IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/riibaf/v70y2024ipbs0275531924001570.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Navigating international competition with ESG: Insights from the US-China trade war

Author

Listed:
  • Xu, Yang
  • Huang, Wei
  • Zhang, Cherry Yi

Abstract

This study shows that the escalation of US import tariffs prompts Chinese exporters to strengthen their ESG engagement, strategically positioning themselves in the renewed competitive landscape. This finding is robust across various model specifications, sample selection methods, and ESG performance proxies. In addition, we document the ESG ranking improvement is stronger for firms with green innovation needs and those operating in industries with high domestic growth potential, which suggests that Chinese exporters aim for product differentiation to combat the tariff escalation. Moreover, the greater ESG engagement is more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, larger firms, and firms operating in pilot free trade zones, indicating firms with higher cost advantage pre-US-China trade war take greater steps forward in product differentiation.

Suggested Citation

  • Xu, Yang & Huang, Wei & Zhang, Cherry Yi, 2024. "Navigating international competition with ESG: Insights from the US-China trade war," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PB).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:riibaf:v:70:y:2024:i:pb:s0275531924001570
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102364
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0275531924001570
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ribaf.2024.102364?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. Bakke, Tor-Erik & Feng, Felix Zhiyu & Mahmudi, Hamed & Zhu, Caroline H., 2022. "Foreign competition and CEO risk-incentive compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Jiang, Lingduo & Lu, Yi & Song, Hong & Zhang, Guofeng, 2023. "Responses of exporters to trade protectionism: Inferences from the US-China trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Liu, Guanchun & Hu, May & Cheng, Chen, 2021. "The information transfer effects of political connections on mitigating policy uncertainty: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    4. Nicholas Bloom & Mirko Draca & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on Innovation, IT and Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 87-117.
    5. An, Yahui & Liu, Xiukun, 2023. "Local attention to employees’ rights and firm value: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 382-394.
    6. Hao Liang & Luc Renneboog, 2017. "On the Foundations of Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(2), pages 853-910, April.
    7. Fangfang Hou & Congshan Li, 2023. "Reverse innovation and firm value in emerging markets: Evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(1), pages 161-198, March.
    8. Vanessa M Strike & Jijun Gao & Pratima Bansal, 2006. "Being good while being bad: social responsibility and the international diversification of US firms," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 37(6), pages 850-862, November.
    9. Huang, Wei & Luo, Yan & Wang, Xiaohuan & Xiao, Lifu, 2022. "Controlling shareholder pledging and corporate ESG behavior," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    10. Babar, Md. & Habib, Ahsan, 2021. "Product market competition in accounting, finance, and corporate governance: A review of the literature," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    11. Gu, Lifeng, 2016. "Product market competition, R&D investment, and stock returns," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(2), pages 441-455.
    12. Kim, Incheol & Pantzalis, Christos & Zhang, Zhengyi, 2021. "Multinationality and the value of green innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    13. Yahui An & Fei Su, 2023. "Do internet stock message boards influence firm value? evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(2), pages 327-353, March.
    14. Haoyuan Ding & Kees G. Koedijk & Tong Qi & Yanqing Shen, 2022. "U.S.–China trade war and corporate reallocation: Evidence from Chinese listed companies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(12), pages 3907-3932, December.
    15. He, Chuan & Mau, Karsten & Xu, Mingzhi, 2021. "Trade Shocks and Firms Hiring Decisions: Evidence from Vacancy Postings of Chinese Firms in the Trade War," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    17. Srinivasan, Shweta, 2020. "Foreign competition and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    18. Na Yang & Jue Wang & Xiaming Liu & Lingyun Huang, 2022. "Home-country institutions and corporate social responsibility of emerging economy multinational enterprises: The belt and road initiative as an example," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 927-965, September.
    19. Benguria, Felipe & Choi, Jaerim & Swenson, Deborah L. & Xu, Mingzhi (Jimmy), 2022. "Anxiety or pain? The impact of tariffs and uncertainty on Chinese firms in the trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    20. Wang, Yizhong & Chen, Carl R. & Huang, Ying Sophie, 2014. "Economic policy uncertainty and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 227-243.
    21. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    22. Najah Attig & Narjess Boubakri & Sadok El Ghoul & Omrane Guedhami, 2016. "Firm Internationalization and Corporate Social Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(2), pages 171-197, March.
    23. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    24. Johan Hombert & Adrien Matray, 2018. "Can Innovation Help U.S. Manufacturing Firms Escape Import Competition from China?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 73(5), pages 2003-2039, October.
    25. Nikolas Rathert, 2016. "Strategies of legitimation: MNEs and the adoption of CSR in response to host-country institutions," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(7), pages 858-879, September.
    26. Dixit, Avinash K, 1989. "Entry and Exit Decisions under Uncertainty," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(3), pages 620-638, June.
    27. Mary Amiti & Stephen J. Redding & David E. Weinstein, 2019. "The Impact of the 2018 Tariffs on Prices and Welfare," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 187-210, Fall.
    28. Sudheer Chava, 2014. "Environmental Externalities and Cost of Capital," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(9), pages 2223-2247, September.
    29. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 2000. "The Contributions of the Economics of Information to Twentieth Century Economics," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 115(4), pages 1441-1478.
    30. Rui Albuquerque & Yrjo Koskinen & Shuai Yang & Chendi Zhang, 2020. "Resiliency of Environmental and Social Stocks: An Analysis of the Exogenous COVID-19 Market Crash," The Review of Corporate Finance Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 9(3), pages 593-621.
    31. Ben S. Bernanke, 1983. "Irreversibility, Uncertainty, and Cyclical Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 98(1), pages 85-106.
    32. Stoughton, Neal M. & Wong, Kit Pong & Yi, Long, 2017. "Investment Efficiency and Product Market Competition," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(6), pages 2611-2642, December.
    33. Pindyck, Robert S, 1988. "Irreversible Investment, Capacity Choice, and the Value of the Firm," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(5), pages 969-985, December.
    34. Ding, Wenzhi & Levine, Ross & Lin, Chen & Xie, Wensi, 2021. "Corporate immunity to the COVID-19 pandemic," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(2), pages 802-830.
    35. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177, March.
    36. Huang, Yi & Lin, Chen & Liu, Sibo & Tang, Heiwai, 2023. "Trade networks and firm value: Evidence from the U.S.-China trade war," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    37. Sudipto Dasgupta & Xi Li & Albert Y Wang, 2018. "Product Market Competition Shocks, Firm Performance, and Forced CEO Turnover," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 31(11), pages 4187-4231.
    38. Cui, Xin & Ji, Xinyuan & Meng, Wei & Song, Qi, 2023. "Product market competition and corporate advertising expenditure: Evidence from a natural experiment," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    39. Li, Guangzhong & Li, Jie, 2018. "Managerial diversion, product market competition, and firm performance," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 240-264.
    40. Aaron Flaaen & Justin R. Pierce, 2019. "Disentangling the Effects of the 2018-2019 Tariffs on a Globally Connected U.S. Manufacturing Sector," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2019-086, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    41. Jiang, Fuxiu & Kim, Kenneth A. & Nofsinger, John R. & Zhu, Bing, 2015. "Product market competition and corporate investment: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 196-210.
    42. Robert McDonald & Daniel Siegel, 1986. "The Value of Waiting to Invest," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 101(4), pages 707-727.
    43. Ng, Anthony C. & Rezaee, Zabihollah, 2015. "Business sustainability performance and cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 128-149.
    44. Sanjay Ramchander & Robert G. Schwebach & KIM Staking, 2012. "The informational relevance of corporate social responsibility: evidence from DS400 index reconstitutions," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(3), pages 303-314, March.
    45. 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.
    46. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    47. 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).
    48. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    49. Caroline Flammer, 2015. "Does product market competition foster corporate social responsibility? Evidence from trade liberalization," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(10), pages 1469-1485, October.
    50. Pablo D Fajgelbaum & Pinelopi K Goldberg & Patrick J Kennedy & Amit K Khandelwal, 2020. "The Return to Protectionism," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(1), pages 1-55.
    51. Stephen J. Brammer & Stephen Pavelin & Lynda A. Porter, 2009. "Corporate Charitable Giving, Multinational Companies and Countries of Concern," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(4), pages 575-596, June.
    52. Glen Dowell & Stuart Hart & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Do Corporate Global Environmental Standards Create or Destroy Market Value?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 46(8), pages 1059-1074, August.
    53. Joanna Tochman Campbell & Lorraine Eden & Stewart R Miller, 2012. "Multinationals and corporate social responsibility in host countries: Does distance matter?," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(1), pages 84-106, January.
    54. Chod, Jiri & Lyandres, Evgeny, 2011. "Strategic IPOs and product market competition," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(1), pages 45-67, April.
    55. Weichieh Su & Mike W. Peng & Weiqiang Tan & Yan-Leung Cheung, 2016. "The Signaling Effect of Corporate Social Responsibility in Emerging Economies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 134(3), pages 479-491, March.
    56. Paul J. Irvine & Jeffrey Pontiff, 2009. "Idiosyncratic Return Volatility, Cash Flows, and Product Market Competition," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(3), pages 1149-1177.
    57. Paul C. Godfrey & Craig B. Merrill & Jared M. Hansen, 2009. "The relationship between corporate social responsibility and shareholder value: an empirical test of the risk management hypothesis," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(4), pages 425-445, April.
    58. Te Bao & Yun Dai & Yanxiang Feng & Shuai Liu & Ruixin Wang, 2023. "Trade liberalisation and trade and capital flows: Evidence from China pilot free trade zones," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 46(5), pages 1408-1422, May.
    59. Michael Spence, 1973. "Job Market Signaling," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 87(3), pages 355-374.
    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. Hossain, Ashrafee T. & Masum, Abdullah-Al, 2022. "Does corporate social responsibility help mitigate firm-level climate change risk?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    2. 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.
    3. Xiaomeng Chen & Xiao Liang & Hai Wu, 2023. "Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions and CSR Performance: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 183(1), pages 255-288, February.
    4. Huang, Chenchen & Luo, Di & Mukherjee, Soumyatanu & Mishra, Tapas, 2022. "To Acquire or to Ally? Managing Partners’ Environmental Risk in International Expansion," MPRA Paper 121808, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Jan 2023.
    5. Leona Shao-Zhi Li & Yize Liu & Jia Yuan, 2024. "The effect of the U.S.–China trade war on Chinese corporate innovation: A curse or a blessing?," Working Papers 202418, University of Macau, Faculty of Business Administration.
    6. Li, Lidan & Han, Jie & Mo, Shenwei & Yang, Yupeng, 2024. "Tackling competition by reducing emissions: Private firms’ polluting behavior under peer IPOs," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PB), pages 232-249.
    7. Atawnah, Nader & Zaman, Rashid & Liu, Jia & Atawna, Thaer & Maghyereh, Aktham, 2023. "Does foreign competition affect corporate debt maturity structure? Evidence from import penetration," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    8. Shih, Yi-Cheng & Wang, Yao & Zhong, Rui & Ma, Yi-Ming, 2021. "Corporate environmental responsibility and default risk: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    9. Bakke, Tor-Erik & Feng, Felix Zhiyu & Mahmudi, Hamed & Zhu, Caroline H., 2022. "Foreign competition and CEO risk-incentive compensation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    10. Buchanan, Bonnie G. & Cao, Cathy Xuying & Wang, Shuhui, 2021. "Corporate social responsibility and inside debt: The long game," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    11. Bai, Min & Ho, Ly, 2022. "Corporate social performance and firm debt levels: Impacts of the covid-19 pandemic and institutional environments," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PB).
    12. Hassan, M. Kabir & Chiaramonte, Laura & Dreassi, Alberto & Paltrinieri, Andrea & Piserà, Stefano, 2023. "Equity costs and risks in emerging markets: Are ESG and Sharia principles complementary?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Ruixi Long & Shuyang Jia, 2023. "Foreground or background my social responsibility: impact of the trade war on the readability of corporate social responsibility disclosures," Information Technology and Management, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 79-97, March.
    14. Ma, Hong & Ning, Jingxin & Xu, Mingzhi (Jimmy), 2021. "An eye for an eye? The trade and price effects of China's retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    15. Farah, Tazrina & Li, Jialong & Li, Zhicheng & Shamsuddin, Abul, 2021. "The non-linear effect of CSR on firms’ systematic risk: International evidence," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Dunbar, Craig & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Shi, Yaqi, 2020. "CEO risk-taking incentives and corporate social responsibility," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Wu, Zhenshu, 2023. "Essays in corporate finance and ESG," Other publications TiSEM fe6f9604-d0c5-46f3-9492-f, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    18. Na Yang & Jue Wang & Xiaming Liu & Lingyun Huang, 2022. "Home-country institutions and corporate social responsibility of emerging economy multinational enterprises: The belt and road initiative as an example," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 927-965, September.
    19. Almaghrabi, Khadija S., 2023. "Local product market competition and investment home bias," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    20. Kong, Dongmin & Kong, Gaowen & Liu, Shasha & Zhu, Ling, 2022. "Does competition cause government decentralization? The case of state-owned enterprises," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 1103-1122.

    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:riibaf:v:70:y:2024:i:pb:s0275531924001570. 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/ribaf .

    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.