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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Does Corporate ESG Performance Help Ease
Financing Constraints in the Context of Green
Development? - Empirical Evidence from China
1
Chongqing Polytechnic University of Electronic Technology, Macau Polytechnic University,
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, R. de Luís Gonzaga Gomes, Macao, China
2
Faculty of Finance, City University of Macau, Macau, China
3
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, R. de Luís Gonzaga Gomes, Macao, China
Submission date: 2023-11-17
Final revision date: 2024-03-04
Acceptance date: 2024-05-19
Online publication date: 2024-09-04
Publication date: 2025-04-04
Corresponding author
Johnny F.I. Lam
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, R. de Luís Gonzaga Gomes, Macao, China
Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, R. de Luís Gonzaga Gomes, Macao, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(4):3689-3702
KEYWORDS
green development in the new eracorporate ESG performancefinancing constraintsmasking effectmediating effect
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This study empirically investigates the relationship between corporate ESG (Environmental, Social,
and Governance) performance and financing constraints for a sample of non-financial listed companies in
China A-shares from 2011-2021. Research findings show that corporate ESG performance could mitigate
corporate financing constraints, with a more significant effect on non-state-controlled enterprises,
enterprises with low financial leverage, and enterprises with a high proportion of independent directors.
Moreover, the study reveals a masking effect of corporate financialization on the relationship between
ESG performance and financing constraints and a mediating effect of corporate management ownership
and equity concentration on the relationship between corporate ESG performance and financing
constraints. These findings give policymakers and practitioners insights into the relationship between
ESG performance and corporate finance constraints. Practical applications to steer the financial sector
in a more sustainable and robust direction are also proposed.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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