Published
2025-03-25
Section
Research Articles
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mei Zhang

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The journal adopts the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0), which means that anyone can reuse and redistribute the materials for non-commercial purposes as long as you follow the license terms and the original source is properly cited.
Author(s) shall retain the copyright of their work and grant the Journal/Publisher rights for the first publication with the work concurrently licensed since 2023 Vol.8 No.2.
Under this license, author(s) will allow third parties to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content under the condition that the authors are given credit. No permission is required from the authors or the publisher.
This broad license intends to facilitate free access, as well as the unrestricted use of original works of all types. This ensures that the published work is freely and openly available in perpetuity.
By providing open access, the following benefits are brought about:
- Higher Visibility, Availability and Citations-free and unlimited accessibility of the publication over the internet without any restrictions increases citation of the article.
- Ease of search-publications are easily searchable in search engines and indexing databases.
- Rapid Publication – accepted papers are immediately published online.
- Available for free download immediately after publication at https://esp.as-pub.com/index.php/ESP
Copyright Statement
1.The authors certify that the submitted manuscripts are original works, do not infringe the rights of others, are free from academic misconduct and confidentiality issues, and that there are no disputes over the authorship scheme of the collaborative articles. In case of infringement, academic misconduct and confidentiality issues, as well as disputes over the authorship scheme, all responsibilities will be borne by the authors.
2. The author agrees to grant the Editorial Office of Environment and Social Psychology a licence to use the reproduction right, distribution right, information network dissemination right, performance right, translation right, and compilation right of the submitted manuscript, including the work as a whole, as well as the diagrams, tables, abstracts, and any other parts that can be extracted from the work and used in accordance with the characteristics of the journal. The Editorial Board of Environment and Social Psychology has the right to use and sub-licence the above mentioned works for wide dissemination in print, electronic and online versions, and, in accordance with the characteristics of the periodical, for the period of legal protection of the property right of the copyright in the work, and for the territorial scope of the work throughout the world.
3. The authors are entitled to the copyright of their works under the relevant laws of Singapore, provided that they do not exercise their rights in a manner prejudicial to the interests of the Journal.
About Licence
Environment and Social Psychology is an open access journal and all published work is available under the Creative Commons Licence, Authors shall retain copyright of their work and grant the journal/publisher the right of first publication, and their work shall be licensed under the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Under this licence, the author grants permission to third parties to download, reuse, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy the content with attribution to the author. No permission from the author or publisher is required.
This broad licence is intended to facilitate free access to and unrestricted use of original works of all kinds. This ensures that published works remain free and accessible in perpetuity. Submitted manuscripts, once accepted, are immediately available to the public and permanently accessible free of charge on the journal’s official website (https://esp.as-pub.com/index.php/ESP). Allowing users to read, download, copy, print, search for or link to the full text of the article, or use it for other legal purposes. However, the use of the work must retain the author's signature, be limited to non-commercial purposes, and not be interpretative.
Click to download <Agreement on the Licence for the Use of Copyright on Environmental and Social Psychology>.
How to Cite
Legal environment, social trust, and ESG Performance of enterprises: A case study of a-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges in China from 2010 to 2019
Mei Zhang
Guizhou University of Commerce, Gui’yang, Guizhou, 550014, China
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v10i3.3490
Keywords: legal environment; social trust; formal institutions; informal institutions; ESG
Abstract
Under the background of implementing "carbon peak and carbon neutrality" targets, the ESG performance of enterprises has attracted the attention from the public. This study selects Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2019 as samples, constructs an ESG evaluation system using the entropy method and AHP method, and investigates the impact of the legal environment on corporate ESG performance and the moderating role of social trust through multiple regression models. The study finds that a well-developed legal environment promotes corporate ESG performance, and the synergistic effect of social trust and the legal environment significantly enhances ESG performance. Further research reveals that the positive effect of the legal system on corporate ESG performance is stronger in resource-based cities and economically underdeveloped regions. Industry heterogeneity analysis further shows that companies in resource-based and traditional heavy industries experience more significant improvements in ESG performance under the influence of the legal environment. The findings enrich the research on the factors influencing corporate ESG performance and provide strategic guidance for promoting corporate sustainable development.
References
[1]. 1.Bai, X., Zhu, Y.F. & Han, J.M. (2022). ESG performance, institutional investor preference and firm value of listed companies, Statistics & Information Forum, 37(10): 117–128. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1007-3116.2022.10.010
[2]. 2.Duque-Grisales, E. & Aguilera-Caracuel, J. (2021). Environmental, social and governance (ESG) scores and financial performance of multilatinas: Moderating effects of geographic international diversification and financial slack, Journal of Business Ethics, 168(2): 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04177-w
[3]. 3.Zheng, P., Li, Y.X. & He, Y.H. (2020). Research on the impact of corporate social responsibility on financial performance: Based on empirical evidence of Chinese listed companies, The Theory and Practice of Finance and Economics, 41(6): 64–71. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1003-7217.2020.06.009
[4]. 4.Huang, J.B., Chen, L.X. & Ding, J. (2022). Corporate social responsibility, media coverage and stock price crash risk, Chinese Journal of Management Science, 30(3): 1–12. https://doi.org/10.16381/j.cnki.issn1003-207x.2020.2183
[5]. 5.Khorilov, T.G. & Kim, J. (2024). ESG and firm risk: Evidence in Korea, Sustainability, 16(13): 5388. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16135388
[6]. 6.Nam, H.-J., Bilgin, M.H. & Ryu, D. (2024). Firm value, ownership structure, and strategic approaches to ESG activities, Eurasian Business Review, 14(1): 187–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40821-024-00252-z
[7]. 7.Maaloul, A., Zéghal, D., Ben Amar, W., et al. (2023). The effect of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and disclosure on cost of debt: The mediating effect of corporate reputation, Corporate Reputation Review, 26(1): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41299-021-00130-8
[8]. 8.Brander, J.A. & Zhang, W. (2017). Employee relations and innovation: An empirical analysis using patent data, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 26(4): 368–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/10438599.2016.1202523
[9]. 9.Liu, B., Lu, J.R. & Ju, T. (2023). Formalism or substantialism: Research on green innovation under soft market supervision of ESG rating, Nankai Business Review, 26(5): 16–26. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1008-3448.2023.05.003
[10]. 10.Lei, X. (2024). Assessing the effectiveness of energy transition policies on corporate ESG performance: Insights from China’s NEDC initiative, International Journal of Global Warming, 34(4): 291–299. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJGW.2024.10067829
[11]. 11.Hmouda, A.M.O., Orzes, G., Sauer, P.C., et al. (2024). Determinants of environmental, social and governance scores: Evidence from the electric power supply chains, Journal of Cleaner Production, 471: 143372. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143372
[12]. 12.Fan, Y., Li, S. & Yang, W. (2024). The impact of the percentage of female directors on corporate ESG score, Finance Research Letters, 63: 105376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105376
[13]. 13.Tan, G. & Chang, Y. (2024). ESG performance and state ownership in firm valuation: Perspectives from Singapore companies, Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 26(2): 2450005. https://doi.org/10.1142/S1464333224500054
[14]. 14.Erben Yavuz, A., Kocaman, B.E., Doğan, M., et al. (2024). The impact of corporate governance on sustainability disclosures: A comparison from the perspective of financial and non-financial firms, Sustainability, 16(19): 8400. https://doi.org/10.3390/su16198400
[15]. 15.North, D.C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change and economic performance, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808678
[16]. 16.Tao, G.G. (2016). Pluralistic collaborative governance of ecological environment from the perspective of social capital, Qinghai Social Sciences, 4: 57–63. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1001-2338.2016.04.010
[17]. 17.Peng, Y. (2004). Kinship networks and entrepreneurs in China’s transitional economy, American Journal of Sociology, 109(5): 1045–1074. https://doi.org/10.1086/382347
[18]. 18.Helmke, G. & Levitsky, S. (2004). Informal institutions and comparative politics: A research agenda, Perspectives on Politics, 2(4): 725–740. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592704040472
[19]. 19.Lei, X. & Zhao, K. (2024). Exploring and assessing construction companies’ ESG performance in sustainability, Global NEST Journal, 26(3). https://doi.org/10.30955/GNJ.005698
[20]. 20.Su, F., Liang, X.F., Chen, S.J., et al. (2022). How institutional pressure affects corporate environmental responsibility: Evidence from Chinese listed companies, Environmental Conformity Assessment, 14(4): 91–101. https://doi.org/10.16868/j.cnki.1674-6252.2022.04.091
[21]. 21.Campbell, J.L. (2007). Why would corporations behave in socially responsible ways? An institutional theory of corporate social responsibility, Academy of Management Review, 32(3): 946–967. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2007.25275684
[22]. 22.Shen, Q.T.S., Ge, X.C. & Song, C.C. (2014). A study of institutional pressures’ influence on corporate social responsibility: An organizational legitimacy perspective, Scientific Research Management, 1: 123–130. https://doi.org/10.19571/j.cnki.1000-2995.2014.01.016
[23]. 23.He, H.J. & Gao, J. (2017). An empirical test of the impact of institutional perception on corporate social responsibility, Statistics and Decision, 24: 183–185. https://doi.org/10.13546/j.cnki.tjyjc.2017.24.045
[24]. 24.La Porta, R., Lopez-De-Silanes, F., Shleifer, A., et al. (1997). Legal determinants of external finance, The Journal of Finance, 52(3): 1131–1150. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-6261.1997.tb02727.x
[25]. 25.Brockman, P. & Chung, D.Y. (2003). Investor protection and firm liquidity, The Journal of Finance, 58(2): 921–937. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6261.00551
[26]. 26.Williamson, O.E. (1979). Transaction-cost economics: The governance of contractual relations, The Journal of Law and Economics, 22(2): 233–261. https://doi.org/10.1086/466942
[27]. 27.Delhey, J., Newton, K. & Welzel, C. (2011). How general is trust in “most people”? Solving the radius of trust problem, American Sociological Review, 76(5): 786–807. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122411420817
[28]. 28.Zhang, H.L. & Lu, Z.F. (2012). The cash distribution, the corporate governance, and the over-investment: An investigation based on the state of the cash holdings of China’s listed companies and their subsidiaries, Management World, 3: 141–150. https://doi.org/10.19744/j.cnki.11-1235/f.2012.03.012
[29]. 29.Hu, W.J. (2022). Heterogeneity of major shareholders, managerial power and corporate governance efficiency, Communication of Finance and Accounting, 19: 52–57. https://doi.org/10.16144/j.cnki.issn1002-8072.20220829.001
[30]. 30.Huang, G.L. & Xia, Y.X. (2022). Research on capital market opening and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from “Shenzhen-Hong Kong stock connect,” Friends of Accounting, 12: 126–134. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1004-5937.2022.12.017
[31]. 31.Ma, Z.G. & Cao, L. (2020). Construction and measurement of manufacturing enterprises high-quality development evaluation system, Science & Technology Progress and Policy, 37(17): 126–133. https://doi.org/10.6049/kjjbydc.2020030358
[32]. 32.Su, C. & Chen, C. (2022). Research on ESG evaluation system of listed companies under the new development concept: Taking heavily polluting manufacturing listed companies as an example, Finance and Accounting Monthly, 6: 155–160. https://doi.org/10.19641/j.cnki.42-1290/f.2022.06.020
[33]. 33.Lin, Z.K. (2012). City insurance social responsibility based on an entropy and AHP combination model, Science Research Management, 33(3): 142–147, 160. https://doi.org/10.19571/j.cnki.1000-2995.2012.03.019
[34]. 34.Sun, Z.Y. & Qi, B.L. (2022). Social trust, legal environment and corporate social responsibilities, Journal of Beijing Technology and Business University (Social Sciences), 37(1): 77–87. https://doi.org/10.12085/j.issn.1009-6116.2022.01.007
[35]. 35.Li, G.L. & Zhu, P.H. (2022). Does information infrastructure construction improve corporate ESG performance?, Finance and Economy, 9: 52–61. https://doi.org/10.19622/j.cnki.cn36-1005/f.2022.09.005
[36]. 36.Zhao, M.L., Feng, J.K. & Sun, W. (2023). Ways and policy suggestions of environmental regulation on green total factor productivity in resource-based cities, Journal of Natural Resources, 38(1): 186–204. https://doi.org/10.31497/zrzyxb.20230112
[37]. 37.Fang, X.T. (2018). Institutional constraints on the development of private economy in underdeveloped regions, Commercial Times, 4: 161–164. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1002-5863.2018.04.049
[38]. 38.Jin, X. & Lei, X. (2023). A study on the mechanism of ESG’s impact on corporate value under the concept of sustainable development, Sustainability, 15(11): 8442. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118442