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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Influence Mechanism of Public Environmental
Concern on the Corporate Environmental
Responsibility: Evidence from China
1
Department of Business, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, PR China
2
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei,230031, PR China
Submission date: 2024-04-11
Final revision date: 2024-06-05
Acceptance date: 2024-06-12
Online publication date: 2024-09-13
Publication date: 2025-05-09
Corresponding author
Yafeng Liu
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei,230031, PR China
Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei,230031, PR China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2025;34(4):4201-4219
KEYWORDS
public environmental concerncorporate environmental responsibilityequity concentrationenvironmental taxes and feesexecutive environmental awareness
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
This study examines the influence of public environmental concern on corporate environmental
responsibility (CER) in China, utilizing panel data spanning from 2012 to 2022. Employing a panel
threshold model, we investigate the moderating role of equity concentration in this relationship.
Our findings reveal a positive association between heightened public environmental concern
and increased CER. However, this positive effect is attenuated when equity concentration surpasses
a specific threshold, indicating a potential impediment to CER under concentrated ownership structures.
Further analysis elucidates the underlying mechanism, demonstrating that public environmental
concern enhances CER by fostering executive environmental awareness—an internal driving force.
Additionally, we identify a negative moderating effect of environmental taxes and fees-an external
factor-on the relationship between public environmental concern and CER. This study contributes
to the existing literature by providing novel insights into CER drivers. It encompasses both internal
organizational factors and external institutional pressures within China’s rapidly developing economy.
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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