IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v93y2024ics1057521924000851.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does social trust affect firms' ESG performance?

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Bo
  • Wang, Yansen

Abstract

This study examines whether and how social trust affects corporate ESG performance using data on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020. We find a significantly positive relationship between social trust and corporate ESG performance. In the heterogeneity analysis, the positive effect is more pronounced for firms in high-polluting industries, firms facing fierce market competition, and firms in which the managers face greater career risks. In an additional analysis, we find that institutional quality and economic development are the two underlying channels through which social trust affects corporate ESG performance. These findings remain consistent across robustness tests, such as replacing variable measurement methods, changing sample intervals, and adding city and industry fixed effects. This study suggests that local social trust can inspire business to be good, and also provides some insights for regulators to improve corporate ESG performance through raising informal institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Bo & Wang, Yansen, 2024. "Does social trust affect firms' ESG performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s1057521924000851
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103153
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521924000851
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103153?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Tao & Dong, Hui & Lin, Chen, 2020. "Institutional shareholders and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(2), pages 483-504.
    2. Stephen Knack & Philip Keefer, 1997. "Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-Country Investigation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 112(4), pages 1251-1288.
    3. Renard Y. J. Siew & Maria C. A. Balatbat & David G. Carmichael, 2016. "The impact of ESG disclosures and institutional ownership on market information asymmetry," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(4), pages 432-448, October.
    4. Maung, Min, 2022. "Trust and cross-border mergers and acquisitions," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Daron Acemoglu & Ali Cheema & Asim I. Khwaja & James A. Robinson, 2020. "Trust in State and Nonstate Actors: Evidence from Dispute Resolution in Pakistan," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(8), pages 3090-3147.
    6. Samuel Drempetic & Christian Klein & Bernhard Zwergel, 2020. "The Influence of Firm Size on the ESG Score: Corporate Sustainability Ratings Under Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(2), pages 333-360, November.
    7. Rey Dang & Maria Giuseppina Bruna & L'Hocine Houanti & Riadh Manita, 2018. "Board gender diversity and ESG disclosure: Evidence from the US," Post-Print hal-01847924, HAL.
    8. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June.
    9. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Chen, Shimin & Sun, Zheng & Tang, Song & Wu, Donghui, 2011. "Government intervention and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 259-271, April.
    11. Islam, Sardar M. N. & Munasinghe, Mohan & Clarke, Matthew, 2003. "Making long-term economic growth more sustainable: evaluating the costs and benefits," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(2-3), pages 149-166, December.
    12. Goel, Rajeev K. & Herrala, Risto & Mazhar, Ummad, 2013. "Institutional quality and environmental pollution: MENA countries versus the rest of the world," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 508-521.
    13. Riadh Manita & Maria Giuseppina Bruna & Rey Dang & L’Hocine Houanti, 2018. "Board gender diversity and ESG disclosure: evidence from the USA," Journal of Applied Accounting Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(2), pages 206-224, May.
    14. Kato, Takao & Long, Cheryl, 2006. "CEO Turnover, Firm Performance and Enterprise Reform in China: Evidence from New Micro Data," IZA Discussion Papers 1914, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Tan, Yongxian & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Xinde & Zhao, Hailong, 2020. "The real effect of partial privatization on corporate innovation: Evidence from China's split share structure reform," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Obobisa, Emma Serwaa & Chen, Haibo & Mensah, Isaac Adjei, 2022. "The impact of green technological innovation and institutional quality on CO2 emissions in African countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    17. Hyejoon Rim & Chuqing Dong, 2018. "Trust and distrust in society and public perception of CSR: a cross-cultural study," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 1-19, March.
    18. Lu Zhang & Shenggang Ren & Xiaohong Chen & Dayuan Li & Duanjinyu Yin, 2020. "CEO Hubris and Firm Pollution: State and Market Contingencies in a Transitional Economy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 161(2), pages 459-478, January.
    19. Xiangyu Chen & Peng Wan, 2020. "Social trust and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 485-500, March.
    20. Córdova Román, Carmen & Zorio-Grima, Ana & Merello, Paloma, 2021. "Economic development and CSR assurance: Important drivers for carbon reporting… yet inefficient drivers for carbon management?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    21. Pedersen, Lasse Heje & Fitzgibbons, Shaun & Pomorski, Lukasz, 2021. "Responsible investing: The ESG-efficient frontier," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 572-597.
    22. Gillan, Stuart L. & Koch, Andrew & Starks, Laura T., 2021. "Firms and social responsibility: A review of ESG and CSR research in corporate finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    23. Di Giuli, Alberta & Kostovetsky, Leonard, 2014. "Are red or blue companies more likely to go green? Politics and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(1), pages 158-180.
    24. Li, Hao & Zhang, Xuan & Zhao, Yang, 2022. "ESG and Firm's Default Risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    25. Qin, Wei & Liang, Quanxi & Jiao, Yan & Lu, Meiting & Shan, Yaowen, 2022. "Social trust and dividend payouts: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    26. Yu, Ellen Pei-yi & Luu, Bac Van, 2021. "International variations in ESG disclosure – Do cross-listed companies care more?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    27. Chen, Yonghuai & Li, Tao & Zeng, Qing & Zhu, Bo, 2023. "Effect of ESG performance on the cost of equity capital: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 348-364.
    28. Shu, Hao & Tan, Weiqiang, 2023. "Does carbon control policy risk affect corporate ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    29. Cheng-Li Huang & Fan-Hua Kung, 2010. "Drivers of Environmental Disclosure and Stakeholder Expectation: Evidence from Taiwan," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 96(3), pages 435-451, October.
    30. Wang Dong & Hongling Han & Yun Ke & Kam C. Chan, 2018. "Social Trust and Corporate Misconduct: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(2), pages 539-562, August.
    31. Kong, Dongmin & Zhao, Ying & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Trust and innovation: Evidence from CEOs' early-life experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    32. Christian Bjørnskov, 2011. "Combating Corruption: On the Interplay between Institutional Quality and Social Trust," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 135-159.
    33. Tang, Meili & Wang, Yu, 2022. "Tax incentives and corporate social responsibility: The role of cash savings from accelerated depreciation policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    34. Fernandez, Viviana, 2021. "The role of trust and social commitment in start-up financing," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    35. Ang, James S. & Cheng, Yingmei & Wu, Chaopeng, 2015. "Trust, Investment, and Business Contracting," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 50(3), pages 569-595, June.
    36. DasGupta, Ranjan, 2022. "Financial performance shortfall, ESG controversies, and ESG performance: Evidence from firms around the world," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    37. Andreas Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Bert Scholtens & Michael Schröder, 2016. "The Effects of Corporate and Country Sustainability Characteristics on The Cost of Debt: An International Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(1-2), pages 158-190, January.
    38. Lei Wang & Heikki Juslin, 2009. "The Impact of Chinese Culture on Corporate Social Responsibility: The Harmony Approach," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 88(3), pages 433-451, October.
    39. Apergis, Nicholas & Poufinas, Thomas & Antonopoulos, Alexandros, 2022. "ESG scores and cost of debt," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    40. Ding, Xiaoya (Sara) & Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Niu, Geng, 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 474-493.
    41. Wang, Yizhi & Lin, Yongjia & Fu, Xiaoqing & Chen, Songhe, 2023. "Institutional ownership heterogeneity and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    42. Li Cai & Jinhua Cui & Hoje Jo, 2016. "Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Firm Risk," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 139(3), pages 563-594, December.
    43. Donald S. Siegel & Donald F. Vitaliano, 2007. "An Empirical Analysis of the Strategic Use of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 773-792, September.
    44. Colin Mayer, 2008. "Trust in Financial Markets," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 14(4), pages 617-632, September.
    45. Maria Baldini & Lorenzo Dal Maso & Giovanni Liberatore & Francesco Mazzi & Simone Terzani, 2018. "Role of Country- and Firm-Level Determinants in Environmental, Social, and Governance Disclosure," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 150(1), pages 79-98, June.
    46. Christian Bjørnskov, 2012. "How Does Social Trust Affect Economic Growth?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 78(4), pages 1346-1368, April.
    47. Xu, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Trust and financial inclusion: A cross-country study," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    48. Cline, Brandon N. & Williamson, Claudia R., 2016. "Trust and the regulation of corporate self-dealing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 572-590.
    49. repec:eme:jaar00:jaar-01-2017-0024 is not listed on IDEAS
    50. Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Liu, Xiaoyan, 2020. "Stock market response to environmental policies: Evidence from heavily polluting firms in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 306-316.
    51. Bian, Wenlong & Ji, Yang & Zhang, Hao, 2019. "Does dialect similarity add value to banks? Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 226-241.
    52. Jenna J. Burke, 2022. "Do Boards Take Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues Seriously? Evidence from Media Coverage and CEO Dismissals," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 176(4), pages 647-671, April.
    53. Wu, Wenfeng & Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M., 2014. "Trust and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 146-159.
    54. Voigt, Stefan, 2018. "How to measure informal institutions," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-22, February.
    55. Casson, Mark C. & Della Giusta, Marina & Kambhampati, Uma S., 2010. "Formal and Informal Institutions and Development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 137-141, February.
    56. Lv, Wendai & Ma, Wenhao & Yang, Xiandong, 2022. "Does social security policy matter for corporate social responsibility? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    57. Barros, Victor & Verga Matos, Pedro & Miranda Sarmento, Joaquim & Rino Vieira, Pedro, 2022. "M&A activity as a driver for better ESG performance," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    58. Gu, Leilei & Liu, Zhongyang & Ma, Sichao & Wang, Hongyu, 2022. "Social trust and corporate financial asset holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    59. Brickley, James A., 2003. "Empirical research on CEO turnover and firm-performance: a discussion," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1-3), pages 227-233, December.
    60. Shi, Lisi & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Liu, Ming-Yu, 2023. "Does societal trust make managers more trustworthy?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    61. Bergh, Andreas & Öhrvall, Richard, 2018. "A sticky trait: Social trust among Swedish expatriates in countries with varying institutional quality," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1146-1157.
    62. Olson, Mancur, 1993. "Dictatorship, Democracy, and Development," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(3), pages 567-576, September.
    63. Sabbaghi, Omid, 2022. "The impact of news on the volatility of ESG firms," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    64. Li, Xiaorong & Wang, Steven Shuye & Wang, Xue, 2017. "Trust and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 74-91.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Song, Jiayi, 2024. "Corporate ESG performance and human capital investment efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    2. Xie, Heng & Cui, Xieyuan & Cao, Nannan & Guo, Zhouqi & Zhang, Qianchuan, 2024. "Social trust and the cost of equity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Chen, Zhongfei & Chen, Fanglin & Zhou, Mengling, 2021. "Does social trust affect corporate environmental performance in China?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    2. Shahab, Yasir & Wang, Peng & Gull, Ammar Ali & Chen, Yugang & Ntim, Collins G., 2023. "Social trust and environmental performance in China: Does state ownership matter?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    3. Shi, Lisi & Ho, Kung-Cheng & Liu, Ming-Yu, 2023. "Does societal trust make managers more trustworthy?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Gu, Leilei & Liu, Zhongyang & Ma, Sichao & Wang, Hongyu, 2022. "Social trust and corporate financial asset holdings: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    5. Kuo, Nan-Ting & Li, Shu & Jin, Zhen, 2023. "Social trust and the demand for audit quality," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Liang, Yuchao & Tan, Qi & Pang, Jun, 2024. "Bless or curse, how does extreme temperature shape heavy pollution companies' ESG performance?-Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    7. Dong, Wang & Ke, Yun & Li, Shuo & Chen, Xiangyu & Wan, Peng, 2021. "Does social trust restrain excess perk consumption? Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1078-1092.
    8. Ding, Xiaoya (Sara) & Guo, Mengmeng & Kuai, Yicheng & Niu, Geng, 2023. "Social trust and firm innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 474-493.
    9. Qin, Wei & Liang, Quanxi & Jiao, Yan & Lu, Meiting & Shan, Yaowen, 2022. "Social trust and dividend payouts: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    10. Xie, Heng & Cui, Xieyuan & Cao, Nannan & Guo, Zhouqi & Zhang, Qianchuan, 2024. "Social trust and the cost of equity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    11. Jin, Ming & Liu, Jinshan & Chen, Zhongfei, 2022. "Impacts of social trust on corporate leverage: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 505-521.
    12. Chen, Yongtai & Ren, Yi-Shuai & Narayan, Seema & Huynh, Ngoc Quang Anh, 2024. "Does climate risk impact firms' ESG performance? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 683-695.
    13. Tian, Yonggang & Ang, James S. & Fu, Panpan & Ma, Chaoqun & Wang, Xiuhua, 2024. "Does social trust mitigate insiders' opportunistic behaviors? Evidence from insider trading," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    14. Xiangyu Chen & Peng Wan, 2020. "Social trust and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 485-500, March.
    15. Kong, Dongmin & Zhao, Ying & Liu, Shasha, 2021. "Trust and innovation: Evidence from CEOs' early-life experience," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    16. Shu, Hao & Tan, Weiqiang, 2023. "Does carbon control policy risk affect corporate ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    17. Su, Kun & Wu, Ji & Lu, Yue, 2022. "With trust we innovate: Evidence from corporate R&D expenditure," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    18. Wang, Kai & Chen, Xi & Wang, Chenye, 2023. "The impact of sustainable development planning in resource-based cities on corporate ESG–Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    19. Baoyin Qiu & Haohan Ren & Jingjing Zuo & Bo Cheng, 2023. "Social Trust and Female Board Representation: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 188(1), pages 187-204, November.
    20. Xia, Changyuan & Chan, Kam C. & Cao, Chunfang & Tan, Youchao, 2021. "Generalized trust, personalized trust, and dynamics of capital structure: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s1057521924000851. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.