IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i4p2898-d1059077.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does Intelligent Manufacturing Affect the ESG Performance of Manufacturing Firms? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Lipeng Sun

    (School of Business and Economics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia)

  • Nur Ashikin Mohd Saat

    (School of Business and Economics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia)

Abstract

It is no longer possible for China’s economy to grow by relying on the rapid expansion of manufacturing. On the one hand, China’s previous rough manufacturing development pattern seriously harmed the environment. On the other hand, China’s manufacturing productivity and international competitiveness have decreased as a result of the disappearance of demographic dividends and growing labor costs. China’s manufacturing firms must simultaneously increase productivity while lowering environmental pollution. This study, which takes intelligent manufacturing pilot demonstration projects as a quasi-natural experiment, investigates the impact of intelligent manufacturing (IM) on environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance using data from 2149 listed manufacturing firms in China from 2009 to 2021. The results indicate that ESG performance of the listed firms could be improved using IM. The heterogeneity test reveals that IM in non-state-owned firms helps to improve ESG performance at the 1% significance level, while the effect is not significant in state-owned firms. Moreover, the effect in eastern China is significant at the 1% level and at the 5% level in western China, but not significant in central and northeastern China. The two channels through which IM improves corporate ESG performance are promoting innovation investment and improving the quality of the information environment. This study also verifies that both internal and external supervision could strengthen the positive impact of IM on corporate ESG performance, which provides empirical evidence for strengthening the supervision of manufacturing firms. The conclusions of the study reveal the internal force of manufacturing firms to improve ESG performance and also provide theoretical support for their implementation of IM projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Lipeng Sun & Nur Ashikin Mohd Saat, 2023. "How Does Intelligent Manufacturing Affect the ESG Performance of Manufacturing Firms? Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:2898-:d:1059077
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/2898/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/2898/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Jun & Yang, Yuan-jun & Cao, Ya-ru & Forrest, Jeffrey Yi-Lin, 2021. "Stimulating effects of intelligent policy on the performance of listed manufacturing companies in China," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 558-573.
    2. Elisa Menicucci & Guido Paolucci, 2022. "Board Diversity and ESG Performance: Evidence from the Italian Banking Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Mu, Weiwei & Liu, Kefu & Tao, Yunqing & Ye, Yongwei, 2023. "Digital finance and corporate ESG," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    4. Elisa Baraibar-Diez & María D. Odriozola, 2019. "CSR Committees and Their Effect on ESG Performance in UK, France, Germany, and Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    5. Ningning Fu & M. De Aguiar, 2021. "Innovation Efficiency and the Spatial Correlation Network Characteristics of Intelligent-Manufacturing Enterprises," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2021, pages 1-15, November.
    6. Xiaoke Zhang & Xuankai Zhao & Yu He, 2022. "Does It Pay to Be Responsible? The Performance of ESG Investing in China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 58(11), pages 3048-3075, September.
    7. Meng, Yijun & Wang, Xun & Zhang, Guoguo & Zheng, Shilin, 2021. "Trust and corporate R&D investment: Cross-country evidence," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    8. Yan, Youliang & Xu, Xixiong & Lai, Jieji, 2021. "Does Confucian culture influence corporate R&D investment? Evidence from Chinese private firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    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. Manzaneque, Montserrat & Merino, Elena & Priego, Alba María, 2016. "The role of institutional shareholders as owners and directors and the financial distress likelihood. Evidence from a concentrated ownership context," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 439-451.
    11. Guochao Wan & Ahmad Yahya Dawod, 2022. "ESG Rating and Northbound Capital Shareholding Preferences: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, July.
    12. Shilei Wu & Hongjie Zhang & Taoyuan Wei, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure, Media Reports, and Enterprise Innovation: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-17, July.
    13. Sang Kim & Zhichuan (Frank) Li, 2021. "Understanding the Impact of ESG Practices in Corporate Finance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-15, March.
    14. McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo & Wang, Mingzhu, 2017. "The role of board gender and foreign ownership in the CSR performance of Chinese listed firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 75-99.
    15. Jinqi Su & Ke Su & Shubin Wang, 2021. "Does the Digital Economy Promote Industrial Structural Upgrading?—A Test of Mediating Effects Based on Heterogeneous Technological Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-24, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Jing Zhao & Maomao Chi & Zhen Zhu & Lewei Hu, 2015. "From digital business strategy to e-business value creation: a three-stage process model," International Journal of Networking and Virtual Organisations, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 15(2/3), pages 215-241.
    18. 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).
    19. Hua Tang, 2022. "The Effect of ESG Performance on Corporate Innovation in China: The Mediating Role of Financial Constraints and Agency Cost," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    20. Xiyao Xiang & Wei-Chiao Huang, 2019. "Does Distance Affect the Role of Nonlocal Subsidiaries on Cluster Firms’ Innovation? An Empirical Investigation on Chinese Biotechnology Cluster Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-18, November.
    21. Shengqin Wu & Degang Yang & Fuqiang Xia & Xinhuan Zhang & Jinwei Huo & Tianyi Cai & Jing Sun, 2022. "The Effect of Labor Reallocation and Economic Growth in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-22, April.
    22. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2021. "The win-win ability of environmental protection and economic development during China's transition," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    23. Su, Zhifang & Guo, Qianqian & Lee, Hsiang-Tai, 2022. "Green finance policy and enterprise energy consumption intensity: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    24. Muhammad Atif & Searat Ali, 2021. "Environmental, social and governance disclosure and default risk," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3937-3959, December.
    25. 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.
    26. Blichfeldt, Henrik & Faullant, Rita, 2021. "Performance effects of digital technology adoption and product & service innovation – A process-industry perspective," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    27. Yining Zhang & Zhong Wu, 2021. "Intelligence and Green Total Factor Productivity Based on China’s Province-Level Manufacturing Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, April.
    28. Fang Jia & Yanyin Li & Lihong Cao & Lintong Hu & Beibei Xu, 2022. "Institutional Shareholders and Firm ESG Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-17, November.
    29. Wanyi Chen & Liguang Zhang & Pinyan Jiang & Fanli Meng & Qianyi Sun, 2022. "Can digital transformation improve the information environment of the capital market? Evidence from the analysts' prediction behaviour," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2543-2578, June.
    30. Kai He & Nan Zhu & Wu Jiang & Chuanjin Zhu, 2022. "Efficiency Evaluation of Chinese Provincial Industrial System Based on Network DEA Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, April.
    31. Ren, Siyu & Hao, Yu & Xu, Lu & Wu, Haitao & Ba, Ning, 2021. "Digitalization and energy: How does internet development affect China's energy consumption?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    32. McCarthy, Scott & Oliver, Barry & Song, Sizhe, 2017. "Corporate social responsibility and CEO confidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 280-291.
    33. Iain M. Cockburn & Rebecca Henderson & Scott Stern, 2018. "The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation," NBER Working Papers 24449, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Niu, Yuhao & Wen, Wen & Wang, Sai & Li, Sifei, 2023. "Breaking barriers to innovation: The power of digital transformation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    35. 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).
    36. Dong, Weijia & Dong, Xinyang & Lv, Xin, 2022. "How does ownership structure affect corporate environmental responsibility? Evidence from the manufacturing sector in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    37. Li, Pei & Lu, Yi & Wang, Jin, 2016. "Does flattening government improve economic performance? Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 18-37.
    38. Liu, Shaohui & Liu, Chuanjiang & Yang, Mian, 2021. "The effects of national environmental information disclosure program on the upgradation of regional industrial structure: Evidence from 286 prefecture-level cities in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 552-561.
    39. Jianzhuang Zheng & Muhammad Usman Khurram & Lifeng Chen, 2022. "Can Green Innovation Affect ESG Ratings and Financial Performance? Evidence from Chinese GEM Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-32, July.
    40. Silvia Carnini Pulino & Mirella Ciaburri & Barbara Sveva Magnanelli & Luigi Nasta, 2022. "Does ESG Disclosure Influence Firm Performance?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    41. Ho, Kung-Cheng & Yang, Lu & Luo, Sijia, 2022. "Information disclosure ratings and continuing overreaction: Evidence from the Chinese capital market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 638-656.
    42. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    43. Cenamor, Javier & Parida, Vinit & Wincent, Joakim, 2019. "How entrepreneurial SMEs compete through digital platforms: The roles of digital platform capability, network capability and ambidexterity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 196-206.
    44. Ying Wu & Haiyan Li & Qinglong Gou & Jibao Gu, 2017. "Supply chain models with corporate social responsibility," International Journal of Production Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(22), pages 6732-6759, November.
    45. ., 2017. "Corporate social responsibility," Chapters, in: Organizational Opportunity and Deviant Behavior, chapter 8, pages 135-158, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    46. Zhao Chen & Ling Hu & Xin He & Ziming Liu & Danni Chen & Weirui Wang, 2022. "Green Financial Reform and Corporate ESG Performance in China: Empirical Evidence from the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-17, November.
    47. Monica Singhania & Neha Saini, 2022. "Quantification of ESG Regulations: A Cross-Country Benchmarking Analysis," Vision, , vol. 26(2), pages 163-171, June.
    48. Yingjia Zhong & Hongyan Zhao & Tianbao Yin, 2023. "Resource Bundling: How Does Enterprise Digital Transformation Affect Enterprise ESG Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.
    49. Yang, Haochang & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Yaobin, 2022. "The effect of manufacturing intelligence on green innovation performance in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    50. Shan Wu & Jinlong Zhang, 2021. "Research on a Compound Dual Innovation Capability Model of Intelligent Manufacturing Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-12, November.
    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. Niu, Bingcheng, 2024. "Government environmental protection expenditure and national ESG performance: Global evidence," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(2).
    2. Shan Wu & Ying Li, 2023. "A Study on the Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate ESG Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Hui Guang & Ying Liu & Jiao Feng & Nan Wang, 2024. "Smart Manufacturing and Enterprise Breakthrough Innovation: Co-Existence Test of “U-Shaped” and Inverted “U-Shaped” Relationships in Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-19, July.
    4. Zhao-Zhen Zhu & Yue Chen & Jiang Zhao & Zhu-Ying Yu, 2023. "Intelligent Manufacturing and Value Creation in Enterprises: Lessons from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in a Chinese Demonstration Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    5. Binbin Yang & Sang Do Park, 2024. "Under the ESG Dome of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
    6. Jingzhuo Yu & Yong-Sik Hwang, 2024. "The Interaction Effects of Board Independence and Digital Transformation on Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance: Complementary or Substitutive?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-26, October.
    7. Xiuli Sun & Cui Zhou & Zhuojiong Gan, 2023. "Green Finance Policy and ESG Performance: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-27, April.
    8. Mahvish Aslam & Imran Shafi & Jamil Ahmed & Mirtha Silvana Garat de Marin & Emmanuel Soriano Flores & Marco Antonio Rojo Gutiérrez & Imran Ashraf, 2023. "Impact of Innovation-Oriented Human Resource on Small and Medium Enterprises’ Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-23, April.

    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. Xiuli Sun & Cui Zhou & Zhuojiong Gan, 2023. "Green Finance Policy and ESG Performance: Evidence from Chinese Manufacturing Firms," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-27, April.
    2. Shan Wu & Ying Li, 2023. "A Study on the Impact of Digital Transformation on Corporate ESG Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-17, April.
    3. Yunfu Zhu & Haoling Yang & Ma Zhong, 2023. "Do ESG Ratings of Chinese Firms Converge or Diverge? A Comparative Analysis Based on Multiple Domestic and International Ratings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Liyuan Meng & Yuchen Zhang, 2023. "Impact of Tax Administration on ESG Performance—A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on China’s Golden Tax Project III," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-23, July.
    5. Feng Xiong & Yaxin Shao & Haotian Fan & Yi Xie, 2023. "Analysis of the Motivation behind Corporate Social Responsibility Based on the csQCA Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-29, July.
    6. Zhu, Bo & Wang, Yansen, 2024. "Does social trust affect firms' ESG performance?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Haiquan Wu & Wenli Liao & Zhifang Zhou & Yi Li, 2021. "Can Financial Constraints and Regulatory Distance Reduce Corporate Environmental Irresponsibility?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-25, November.
    8. Jin, Minghui & Chen, Yang, 2024. "Has green innovation been improved by intelligent manufacturing?—Evidence from listed Chinese manufacturing enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    9. Wang, Zhen & Tang, Pei, 2024. "Substantive digital innovation or symbolic digital innovation: Which type of digital innovation is more conducive to corporate ESG performance?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 1212-1228.
    10. Shahid Ali & Junrui Zhang & Muhammad Usman & Farman Ullah Khan & Amir Ikram & Bilal Anwar, 2019. "Sub-National Institutional Contingencies and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, October.
    11. Di Song & Canyu Xu & Zewei Fu & Chao Yang, 2023. "How Does a Regulatory Minority Shareholder Influence the ESG Performance? A Quasi-Natural Experiment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-22, April.
    12. Cheng, Yiming & Zeng, Bo & Lin, Weixing, 2024. "Heterogenous effects of inclusive digital economy and resource distribution mismatch on corporate ESG performance in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    13. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo, 2023. "Corporate digital transformation and trade credit financing," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    14. Genghua Tang & Hongxun Mai, 2022. "How Does Manufacturing Intelligentization Influence Innovation in China from a Nonlinear Perspective and Economic Servitization Background?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-16, October.
    15. Guo, Bingnan & Wang, Yu & Zhang, Hao & Liang, Chunyan & Feng, Yu & Hu, Feng, 2023. "Impact of the digital economy on high-quality urban economic development: Evidence from Chinese cities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    16. 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.
    17. Qiao, Penghua & Liu, Siting & Fung, Hung-Gay & Wang, Chen, 2024. "Corporate green innovation in a digital economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 870-883.
    18. Daeheon Choi & Paul Moon Sub Choi & Joung Hwa Choi & Chune Young Chung, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from the Role of the Largest Institutional Blockholders in the Korean Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    19. Xue, Yi & Zhang, Xinzhi, 2024. "Digital transformation and corporate capital structure: Evidence from China," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. 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).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:2898-:d:1059077. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.