IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v61y2024ics1544612324000783.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the impact of ESG components, CEO characteristics, and organizational themes on downside risk: Insights from Chinese firms

Author

Listed:
  • Tang, Chia-Hsien
  • Lee, Yen-Hsien
  • Hsiao, Ming-Chun
  • Liu, Hung-Chun

Abstract

This study explores the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) components, CEO characteristics, and organizational frameworks on the downside risk among Chinese firms. Our results show that higher ESG total/management (risk) scores are generally associated with a decrease (an increase) in downside risk. The Social and Governance elements of ESG relate positively and negatively to downside risk, respectively. CEO traits, such as overseas background and duality, have a positive impact on downside risk, while the age of the CEO exerts the opposite effect. Finally, state-owned companies or those audited by Big 4 accounting firms can mitigate downside risk.

Suggested Citation

  • Tang, Chia-Hsien & Lee, Yen-Hsien & Hsiao, Ming-Chun & Liu, Hung-Chun, 2024. "Exploring the impact of ESG components, CEO characteristics, and organizational themes on downside risk: Insights from Chinese firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:61:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324000783
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2024.105048
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612324000783
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105048?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. Feng, Jingwen & Goodell, John W. & Shen, Dehua, 2022. "ESG rating and stock price crash risk: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    2. Becchetti, Leonardo & Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio, 2018. "Fishing the Corporate Social Responsibility risk factors," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 25-48.
    3. Pástor, Ľuboš & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Taylor, Lucian A., 2021. "Sustainable investing in equilibrium," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 550-571.
    4. Fishburn, Peter C, 1977. "Mean-Risk Analysis with Risk Associated with Below-Target Returns," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(2), pages 116-126, March.
    5. Andreas G F Hoepner & Ioannis Oikonomou & Zacharias Sautner & Laura T Starks & Xiao Y Zhou, 2024. "ESG shareholder engagement and downside risk," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 28(2), pages 483-510.
    6. Borghesi, Richard & Houston, Joel F. & Naranjo, Andy, 2014. "Corporate socially responsible investments: CEO altruism, reputation, and shareholder interests," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 164-181.
    7. Broadstock, David C. & Chan, Kalok & Cheng, Louis T.W. & Wang, Xiaowei, 2021. "The role of ESG performance during times of financial crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    8. Lööf, Hans & Sahamkhadam, Maziar & Stephan, Andreas, 2022. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility investing a free lunch? The relationship between ESG, tail risk, and upside potential of stocks before and during the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    9. Renée B. Adams & Patricia Funk, 2012. "Beyond the Glass Ceiling: Does Gender Matter?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 58(2), pages 219-235, February.
    10. Wang, Li-Hsun & Lin, Chu-Hsiung & Fung, Hung-Gay & Chen, Hsien-Ming, 2015. "Governance mechanisms and downside risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PB), pages 485-498.
    11. Bawa, Vijay S. & Lindenberg, Eric B., 1977. "Capital market equilibrium in a mean-lower partial moment framework," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(2), pages 189-200, November.
    12. Karl V. Lins & Henri Servaes & Ane Tamayo, 2017. "Social Capital, Trust, and Firm Performance: The Value of Corporate Social Responsibility during the Financial Crisis," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(4), pages 1785-1824, August.
    13. Serfling, Matthew A., 2014. "CEO age and the riskiness of corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 251-273.
    14. Wang, Yizhong & Yao, Chengxue & Kang, Di, 2019. "Political connections and firm performance: Evidence from government officials' site visits," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    15. Reinhard Schunck & Francisco Perales, 2017. "Within- and between-cluster effects in generalized linear mixed models: A discussion of approaches and the xthybrid command," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 17(1), pages 89-115, March.
    16. Li, Hao & Zhang, Xuan & Zhao, Yang, 2022. "ESG and Firm's Default Risk," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    17. Campbell R. Harvey & Akhtar Siddique, 2000. "Conditional Skewness in Asset Pricing Tests," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 55(3), pages 1263-1295, June.
    18. Yung-Ming Shiu & Shou-Lin Yang, 2017. "Does engagement in corporate social responsibility provide strategic insurance-like effects?," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(2), pages 455-470, February.
    19. Chen, Hong-Yi & Yang, Sharon S., 2020. "Do Investors exaggerate corporate ESG information? Evidence of the ESG momentum effect in the Taiwanese market," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    20. 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.
    21. Boubaker, Sabri & Cellier, Alexis & Manita, Riadh & Saeed, Asif, 2020. "Does corporate social responsibility reduce financial distress risk?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 835-851.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Wenbing Luo & Ziyan Tian & Xusheng Fang & Mingjun Deng, 2024. "Can good ESG performance reduce stock price crash risk? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 1469-1492, May.
    2. Liu, Xufeng & Wan, Die, 2023. "Retail investor trading and ESG pricing in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Khurram, Muhammad Usman & Chen, Lifeng & Abedin, Mohammad Zoynul & Adu, Douglas A. & Lucey, Brian, 2024. "ESG disclosure and internal pay gap: Empirical evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 228-244.
    4. Cerqueti, Roy & Ciciretti, Rocco & Dalò, Ambrogio & Nicolosi, Marco, 2021. "ESG investing: A chance to reduce systemic risk," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    5. Hans B. Christensen & Luzi Hail & Christian Leuz, 2021. "Mandatory CSR and sustainability reporting: economic analysis and literature review," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 26(3), pages 1176-1248, September.
    6. Fiordelisi, Franco & Ricci, Ornella & Santilli, Gianluca, 2023. "Environmental engagement and stock price crash risk: Evidence from the European banking industry," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    7. Ni, Yinan & Sun, Yanfei, 2023. "Environmental, social, and governance premium in Chinese stock markets," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    8. Bissoondoyal-Bheenick, Emawtee & Brooks, Robert & Do, Hung Xuan, 2023. "ESG and firm performance: The role of size and media channels," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    9. Roy Cerqueti & Rocco Ciciretti & Ambrogio Dalò & Marco Nicolosi, 2022. "Mitigating Contagion Risk by ESG Investing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-13, March.
    10. Saif-Alyousfi, Abdulazeez Y.H. & Saha, Asish & Alshammari, Turki Rashed, 2023. "Bank diversification and ESG activities: A global perspective," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(3).
    11. Cabreros, David & de la Fuente, Gabriel & Velasco, Pilar, 2024. "From dawn to dusk: The relationship between CEO career horizon and ESG engagement," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    12. He Xiao, 2023. "Institutional investors' corporate site visits and corporate investment efficiency," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 359-392, June.
    13. Lööf, Hans & Sahamkhadam, Maziar & Stephan, Andreas, 2022. "Is Corporate Social Responsibility investing a free lunch? The relationship between ESG, tail risk, and upside potential of stocks before and during the COVID-19 crisis," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 46(PB).
    14. Bi, Hongwei & Huang, Rachel J. & Tzeng, Larry Y. & Zhu, Wei, 2019. "Higher-order Omega: A performance index with a decision-theoretic foundation," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 43-57.
    15. 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).
    16. Wang, Kai & Li, Tingting & San, Ziyao & Gao, Hao, 2023. "How does corporate ESG performance affect stock liquidity? Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Alberto Barroso del Toro & Laura Vivas Crisol & Xavier Tort-Martorell, 2022. "Comparing the Impacts of Sustainability Narratives on American and European Energy Shareholders: A Multi-Event Study Analysing Reactions to News before and during COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    18. Hegde, Shantaram P. & Mishra, Dev R., 2019. "Married CEOs and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 226-246.
    19. Houda Hafsa & Dorra Hmaied, 2012. "Are Downside Higher Order Co-Moments Priced? : Evidence From The French Market," The International Journal of Business and Finance Research, The Institute for Business and Finance Research, vol. 6(1), pages 65-81.
    20. Ayub, Usman & Shah, Syed Zulfiqar Ali & Abbas, Qaisar, 2015. "Robust analysis for downside risk in portfolio management for a volatile stock market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 86-96.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Downside risk; ESG; Environmental; Social; Governance; CEO characteristics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:finlet:v:61:y:2024:i:c:s1544612324000783. 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/frl .

    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.