Home⇛Psychology and Education: A Multidisciplinary Journal⇛vol. 49 no. 7 (2025)

Predictors of Chemical Enterprise Green Performance

Hui Wang | Althea U. Denuevo

Discipline: Education

 

Abstract:

The study examines the determinants of green performance among China's chemical enterprises from 2018 to 2023, with an emphasis on the mediating role of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices. Drawing on panel data of 478 listed chemical firms, a two-way fixed effects model was employed to examine how firm characteristics, namely enterprise size, type, and age, affect green performance. The results reveal that larger and more mature enterprises exhibit significantly higher levels of green performance, supported by economies of scale, technological advancements, and effective governance. Moreover, ESG practices act as a critical mediating mechanism that strengthens the positive relationship between enterprise characteristics and green performance. Robustness and endogeneity tests confirm the stability of these findings. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the positive effects are more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, firms in central and western China, and those classified as high-tech or "specialized, refined, unique, and new" enterprises. The research underscores that organizational capability and ESG integration are essential drivers of sustainable transformation in the chemical industry. These findings offer theoretical and empirical guidance for policymakers to develop differentiated regulatory measures and for enterprises to enhance their green competitiveness in alignment with China's "dual carbon" goals.



References:

  1. Abdelsayed, K. G. M. M. (2025). ESG performance and beyond: Exploring leadership, organizational psychological capital, and narcissistic reporting (Doctoral dissertation, Brunel University London).
  2. Alkaraan, F., Albitar, K., Hussainey, K., & Venkatesh, V. G. (2022). Corporate transformation toward Industry 4.0 and financial performance: The influence of environmental, social, and governance (ESG). Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 175, 121423.
  3. Baah, C., Opoku-Agyeman, D., Acquah, I. S. K., Agyabeng-Mensah, Y., Afum, E., Faibil, D., & Abdoulaye, F. A. M. (2021). Examining the correlations between stakeholder pressures, green production practices, firm reputation, and environmental and financial performance: Evidence from manufacturing SMEs. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 27, 100-114.
  4. Bilyay-Erdogan, S., & Öztürkkal, B. (2023). The role of environmental, social, governance (ESG) practices and ownership on firm performance in emerging markets. Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 59(12), 3776-3797.
  5. Cheng, Q. Q., & Liu, Z. M. (2024). The impact of green finance policies on the ESG performance of polluting enterprises: Evidence from Chinese industrial firms. Academic Research, (02), 101–109.
  6. Cheng, Z. X. (2023). Research on the quality evaluation of ESG information disclosure by Huadian International (Master's thesis, Donghua University).
  7. Ding, D. (2024). Research on the impact of ESG practices on enterprise value in Anruike (Master's thesis, Guangzhou University).
  8. Ding, H., & Wang, Z. (2025). The Influence of Institutional Pressures on Environmental, Social, and Governance Responsibility Fulfillment: Insights from Chinese Listed Firms. Sustainability, 17(9), 3982.
  9. Du, X. (2023). Thoughts on strategies and paths to achieve carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in China. Frontiers in Energy, 17(3), 324-331.
  10. Feng, J., Wang, Y., & Xi, W. (2024). Does green technology transformation alleviate corporate financial constraints? Evidence from Chinese listed firms. Heliyon, 10(6).
  11. Gidage, M., & Bhide, S. (2024). Corporate reputation as the nexus: linking moral and social responsibility, green practices, and organizational performance. Corporate Reputation Review, 1-23.
  12. Goncharenko, N., & Shapoval, V. (2021). Eco-innovation financing as an element of a "green" economy formation in the globalization conditions of sustainable development. Green, Blue and Digital Economy Journal, 2(2), 15-23.
  13. Guo, R. X. (2024). Research on the impact of LONGi Green Energy's ESG practices on corporate performance (Master's thesis, Xi'an International Studies University).
  14. Hao, Z., Zhang, X., & Wei, J. (2022). Research on the effect of enterprise financial flexibility on sustainable innovation. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(2), 100184.
  15. Huang, B. (2023). New requirements for ESG practices with Chinese characteristics. China Finance, (03), 17–18.
  16. Huang, H. Y. (2024). High-quality development of chemical enterprises from an ESG perspective (Master's thesis, Minzu University of China).
  17. Jaaffar, A. H., Rasiah, R., Osabohien, R., & Amran, A. (2024). Do CEOs' and board directors' environmental governance experience, corporations' age and financial performance influence adoption of green management practices? A study of energy-intensive industries in Malaysia. Energy Efficiency, 17(7), 82.
  18. Jia, Y. Q. (2022). Research on the impact of Fuyao Glass's ESG practices on its corporate performance (Master's thesis, Lanzhou University).
  19. Latip, M., Sharkawi, I., Mohamed, Z., & Kasron, N. (2022). The impact of external stakeholders' pressures on the intention to adopt environmental management practices and the moderating effects of firm size. Journal of Small Business Strategy, 32(3), 45-66.
  20. Li, Y., & Yang, H. Z. (2024). Research on the impact mechanism of environmental responsibility constraints on green performance of logistics enterprises. Journal of Business Economics Research, (04), 95–98.
  21. Liang, F. (2024). Research on the role and impact of ESG practices on corporate value (Master's thesis, Guangzhou University).
  22. Liang, Y., Lee, M. J., & Jung, J. S. (2022). Dynamic capabilities and an ESG strategy for sustainable management performance. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 887776.
  23. Lin, Y. (2024). Research on the Impact of Corporate ESG Performance on Long-Term Sustainable Competitive Advantage. Journal of Modern Business and Economics, 1(2).
  24. Liu, L., Wang, X., & Wang, Z. (2023). Recent progress and emerging strategies for carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology, 13(5), 732-759.
  25. Liu, S. (2025). Green management promotes long-term business competitive advantage through the resource-based view. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 1-28.
  26. Liu, Y. T., & Zhang, C. K. (2024). Research on the impact of R&D investment on the green technology innovation capability of listed new energy vehicle enterprises. Modern Business Trade Industry, 45(20), 4–7.
  27. Nabi, A. A., Ahmed, F., Tunio, F. H., Hafeez, M., & Haluza, D. (2025). Assessing the impact of green environmental policy stringency on Eco-Innovation and green finance in Pakistan: a quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) analysis for sustainability. Sustainability, 17(3), 1021.
  28. Ning, W., Saeed, U. F., & Kongkuah, M. (2025). Saving the environment in emerging markets: The synergistic roles of corporate ownership structure, financing strategy, and innovation capacity. Business Strategy and the Environment, 34(4), 5114-5138.
  29. Pan, D. Y. (2023). Research on the impact of ESG practices on stock returns of listed commercial banks (Master's thesis, Central University of Finance and Economics).
  30. Popescu, C., Hysa, E., Kruja, A., & Mansi, E. (2022). Social innovation, circularity and energy transition for environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices—a comprehensive review. Energies, 15(23), 9028.
  31. Saluy, B., & Nuryanto, W. (2023). Green Competitive Advantage in Indonesia's Chemical Manufacturing. Journal of Energy and Environmental Policy Options, 6(4), 1-11.
  32. Samans, R., & Nelson, J. (2022). Corporate governance and oversight. In Sustainable Enterprise value creation: Implementing stakeholder capitalism through full ESG integration (pp. 103-140). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
  33. Sari, R. (2023). Enhancing Corporate Governance through Effective Oversight and Accountability. Advances: Jurnal Ekonomi & Bisnis, 1(6), 344-356.
  34. Sheldon, R. A., & Brady, D. (2022). Green chemistry, biocatalysis, and the chemical industry of the future. ChemSusChem, 15(9), e202102628.
  35. Sheng, X., & An, Y. (2024). The nonlinear impact of financial flexibility on corporate sustainability: Empirical evidence from the Chinese manufacturing industry. Heliyon, 10(6).
  36. Sikiru, A. O., Chima, O. K., Otunba, M., Gaffar, O., & Adenuga, A. A. (2025). Navigating the Regulatory Trilemma-A Framework for Balancing US Tariffs, EU ESG Directives, and Cross-Border Capital Controls. Engineering and Technology Journal, 10(08).
  37. Wan, H., Fu, J., & Zhong, X. (2024). ESG performance and firms' innovation efficiency: the moderating role of state-owned firms and regional market development. Business Process Management Journal, 30(1), 270-290.
  38. Wang, J. L., Yang, X. C., & Jia, L. (2024). Can the participation of top management teams in green innovation enhance corporate ESG performance? Scientific Decision Making, (07), 16–37.
  39. Wang, Q. (2025). Configuration analysis of ESG performance improvement paths for commerce and trade circulation enterprises. Journal of Commercial Economics, (01), 45–48.
  40. Wang, Y. (2023). Research on the impact of LONGi Green Energy's ESG practices on corporate performance (Master's thesis, North China Electric Power University (Beijing)).
  41. Wang, Y., Li, M., & Liang, Y. (2025). Consistency of policy orientation and high-quality green transformation of enterprises. Management World, 41(07), 108–139.
  42. Wu, F., & Rong, F. Z. (2025). Top management team stability, ESG performance, and corporate green innovation performance: An empirical study based on listed manufacturing companies in China. Commercial Accounting, (07), 54–59.
  43. Wu, H. (2024). Research on corporate green innovation under ESG practices (Master's thesis, Southwest University).
  44. Wu, J. Q. (2024). Research on the impact of ESG practices on enterprise value in coating enterprises (Master's thesis, Wuhan Polytechnic University).
  45. Xia, D., Chen, W., Gao, Q., Zhang, R., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Research on enterprises' intention to adopt green technology imposed by environmental regulations with perspective of state ownership. Sustainability, 13(3), 1368.
  46. Yang, D. Y. (2023). Research on ESG information disclosure in chemical enterprises (Master's thesis, Xi'an University of Posts and Telecommunications).
  47. Yang, J., Li, L., Liang, Y., Wu, J., Wang, Z., Zhong, Q., & Liang, S. (2022). Sustainability performance of global chemical industry based on green total factor productivity. Science of the Total Environment, 830, 154787.
  48. Yang, Y., & Han, J. (2023). Digital transformation, financing constraints, and corporate environmental, social, and governance performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 30(6), 3189-3202.
  49. Yu, P., Zuo, Z., & Lian, D. (2024). Fostering high-quality corporate development through ESG-driven technological innovation: A moderated mediation analysis. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 15(4), 17598-17629.
  50. Zheng, J. J. (2023). Exploration of ESG information disclosure in chemical enterprises under the "dual carbon" goals: A case study of J Company. Modern Industrial Economy and Informationization, 13(10), 272–274+277.

Tools


Copyright © 2026  KITE Digital Educational Solutions |  Exclusively distributed by CE-Logic