Research on the Impact of Online Public Opinion on Corporate ESG Evaluation—A Case Study of Meituan

Huizhi Feng and Guochao Wan ()
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Huizhi Feng: Chengdu University of Information Technology, School of Management
Guochao Wan: Chengdu University of Information Technology, School of Management

A chapter in Proceedings of the 2026 11th International Conference on Financial Innovation and Economic Development (ICFIED 2026), 2026, pp 801-807 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has become an essential pathway for firms to address multidimensional risks and achieve sustainable, high-quality growth. Using the 2020 “rider rights dispute” involving Meituan - a typical social responsibility incident in the platform economy - as a focal event, this study applies the event study method with an event window of [-3, +5] trading days to examine how online public opinion influences corporate ESG evaluation, incorporating measurements of cumulative abnormal returns (CAR) and t-statistical tests to validate market response robustness. The findings indicate that intense online public opinion, amplified by social media dissemination, can trigger significant negative market reactions, thereby pressuring firms to undertake substantive governance and responsibility reforms to restore and enhance their ESG profile. Overall, the evidence confirms that online public opinion exerts a direct and measurable influence on corporate ESG evaluation, particularly through the social (S) dimension centered on employee rights protection, offering targeted implications for labor-intensive platform enterprises in ESG management.

Keywords: ESG; online public opinion; event study method; stakeholder theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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DOI: 10.2991/978-94-6239-642-5_82

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