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This paper takes the establishment of the Green Financial Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone (GFPZ) in 2017 as a natural experiment, adopts the data of a-share industrial listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2020, and utilizes the difference-in-differences (DID) method to carry out empirical tests. The results show that (1) GFPZ policy significantly improves the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of enterprises, and the positive effect is mainly realized by improving the external financing ability and green-technology innovation level of enterprises. (2) There is heterogeneity in the impact of GFPZ policy on the ESG performance of firms with different equity natures and internal control levels. (3) Green finance promotes active corporate social responsibility, and it can further improve environmental governance in the regions where it operates. This paper provides a useful supplement to the comprehensive understanding of green-finance policy effects and ESG impact factors, and it is of great significance in mitigating the negative environmental and social externalities caused by the excessive pursuit of economic benefits by enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper empirically investigates the impact of digital finance on the breakthrough innovation of enterprises with a sample of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2022. It is found that digital finance can promote corporate breakthrough innovation, and presents certain structural heterogeneity characteristics. The mechanism test shows that digital finance has the dual attributes of a financing platform and a social platform, which can promote breakthrough innovation by alleviating corporate financing constraints and expanding corporate social networks. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the role of digital finance in promoting breakthrough innovation is characterized by regional heterogeneity, with digital finance playing a greater role in promoting breakthrough innovation in provinces with a low level of development of the banking sector, provinces with a high level of development of the capital market sector, and the central region. In addition, the degree of firms' external financing dependence and the degree of product market competition can strengthen the positive effect of digital finance on firms' breakthrough innovation. This paper enriches the related research on the impact of digital finance on enterprise innovation, and provides theoretical basis and policy insights on how digital finance can better assist the innovation-driven development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior literature finds senior executives can influence auditor decision making. However, few studies have discussed the impact of employee's personal characteristics. Our research aims to fill the above research gaps by examining the impact of employee level education on audit costs. Taking A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2006 to 2021 as the research object, this paper examines the impact of employee education on audit fees. It is found that highly educated employees can effectively reduce the audit fees borne by the company, but the implementation of the Labor Protection Law weakens this inhibitory effect. In the case of low marketization level and weak Confucian culture intensity, employee education level has a more significant inhibitory effect on audit fees of listed companies. This study provides a basis for empirical research on the impact of employee attributes on auditor decision making, provides a new research perspective on the impact of labor protection law at the corporate micro level, and enriches the theoretical research on corporate governance rooted in traditional Chinese culture. We contribute to the practice that implications for evaluating the effectiveness of adopting labor protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the relationship between air pollution and total factor productivity and new pathways, This paper examines the impact of air pollution on total factor productivity of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2015 and 2019. It investigates this relationship by considering two pathways: investor sentiment and government attention. The findings indicate that air pollution suppresses total factor productivity of firms. However, air pollution stimulates investor sentiment, which in turn increases R&D investment and total factor productivity, reducing to some extent the dampening effect of air pollution on total factor productivity. There exists a notable positive correlation between air quality and government attention, acting as a mediating variable. This implies that air pollution has the potential to capture the attention of governmental entities, leading to the implementation of appropriate measures aimed at managing and mitigating the occurrence of air pollution caused by industrial enterprises.And the relevant governments should formulate a series of policies to meet the different needs of different enterprises. These two approaches have varying impacts depending on the type of enterprises, thus governments should develop laws to cater to the various demands of different types of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, countries worldwide are embracing digital strategies, enabling enterprises to utilize digital technology, digital supply chains, blockchain, and additional digital measures to increase their competitiveness. This paper analyzed the correlation between the digital transformation of manufacturing export enterprises and their business and export performance, focusing on China's manufacturing export enterprises through empirical analysis. The study investigated the influence of digital transformation on enterprise performance. Using the Resource Based View theory and Trade theory, hypotheses were proposed and regression models were developed to analyze a sample of 1007 enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock markets from 2012 to 2019. The study conducted regression analysis, intermediate effect test, robustness test, stage lag, and heterogeneity analysis. The study found that (1) Manufacturing export enterprises listed in the stock market implemented digital transformation, leading to a significant positive impact on their overall performance. (2) Digital transformation led to cost reduction, improved R&D intensity, and enhanced human resources, among other benefits for enterprise performance. (3) According to the fractal analysis, non-state-owned enterprises exhibited more favorable effects on enterprise performance, and the digital transformation of manufacturing export companies in developed regions had a more significant impact on their performance. Finally, the study's empirical results yielded pertinent proposals for digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the peer and economic effects of corporate poverty alleviation behavior. Using the data of A-share non-financial listed corporates in Shanghai and Shenzhen of China from 2016 to 2020, the empirical analysis of this study finds that: corporate poverty alleviation behavior has significant peer effects; the guidance of local poverty alleviation policies weakens the peer effects of corporate poverty alleviation behavior; compared to private enterprises, the poverty alleviation behavior of the peer firms has a more significant impact on state-owned enterprises; and corporate poverty alleviation behavior can result in the backflow of economic benefits and achieve the organic unity of economic and social benefits. The purpose of this paper is to explore the peer effects of corporate poverty alleviation behaviors through empirical analysis using available public data. The results of the study not only increase the motivation of corporate to participate in poverty alleviation from a peer effects perspective, but also reveal key factors for sustaining corporate poverty alleviation behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the background of sustainable development policies, the ESG performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises is still generally poor. As the leading enterprises in the manufacturing industry, state-owned enterprises should take the lead in responding to the national call for sustainable development and actively explore the path to improve their ESG performance. This study aims to explore whether and how state-owned manufacturing enterprises can improve their poor ESG performance through digital transformation in the digital economy. This study takes Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share state-owned listed manufacturing enterprises as the research sample and constructs an unbalanced panel. OLS regression analysis is used to empirically test the impact of digital transformation on the ESG performance of the sample firms. Further attempts are made to discuss the influence mechanism of digital transformation from the perspectives of dynamic capabilities and the institutional environment through stepwise and hierarchical regression methods, respectively. The study shows that, firstly, digital transformation is an important influencing factor in promoting the improvement of enterprises' ESG performance, and at the same time, there are significant structural differences in this influence. Second, under the dynamic capability perspective, digital transformation can improve corporate ESG performance through an absorptive feedback mechanism, matching response mechanism, and innovation efficiency enhancement mechanism. Third, from the perspective of the institutional environment, the informal system has a significant positive moderating effect on the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance, i.e., the informal system and digital transformation have a synergistic governance effect on corporate ESG performance. The moderating effect of the formal institutional environment on digital transformation and ESG performance is not significant. The findings of the study clarify the controversy over the relationship between digital transformation and ESG performance of manufacturing state-owned enterprises and enrich the research on the influencing factors of corporate ESG performance. It also provides a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for manufacturing SOEs to improve ESG performance and lead to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of performance feedback (performance expectation surplus, performance expectation deficit) on corporate ESG performance, and this paper also to investigate the role of environmental strategy as a mechanism in the impact of enterprises' performance feedback on corporate ESG performance. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study used data from 3679 companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges for the period 2009–2021 and also measured the intensity of corporate environmental strategies through analysis. Finally, we used a fixed effects model to test the research hypothesis. Findings: This study shows that enterprise performance feedback positively affects corporate ESG performance and that environmental strategy plays a significant mechanistic role in enterprise performance feedback and corporate ESG performance. Overall, performance expectation surplus negatively affects ESG performance, performance expectation deficit positively affects ESG performance, and the mechanism of environmental strategy plays a significant role in performance expectation deficit and ESG performance. Practical implications: The results of this study can help enterprises establish a scientific environmental management system, strengthen the supervision of enterprise environmental management, and have certain reference significance for enterprises to speed up the implementation of environmental protection measures. Originality/Value: This study adds to the literature by describing corporate ESG performance using performance feedback theory and explaining the inherent role of enterprise performance feedback in corporate ESG performance utilizing environmental strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of technologies such as cloud computing and big data, various levels of government departments in the country have successively introduced digital subsidy policies to promote enterprises' digital transformation. However, the effectiveness of these policies and their ability to truly achieve policy objectives have become pressing concerns across society. Against this backdrop, this paper employs a moderated mediation effects model to empirically analyze the incentive effects of financial subsidies on the digital transformation of A-share listed manufacturing companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2013 to 2022. The research findings indicate a significant promotion effect of financial subsidies on the digital transformation of manufacturing enterprises, especially demonstrating a notable incentive impact on the digital transformation of large enterprises, non-asset-intensive enterprises, technology-intensive enterprises, and non-labor-intensive enterprises. However, the incentive effect on the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), asset-intensive enterprises, non-technology-intensive enterprises, and labor-intensive enterprises is not significant. Notably, the expansion of financial subsidies positively influences the augmentation of R&D investment within manufacturing enterprises, subsequently providing indirect encouragement for their digital transformation. Additionally, the incorporation of the degree of marketization implies its potential to moderate both the direct and indirect impacts of financial subsidies on enterprise digital transformation. This study enriches the research on the mechanism of the role of financial subsidies in digital transformation and provides empirical evidence on how market participation influences the effects of financial subsidies, thereby assisting policymakers in comprehensively understanding the impact of financial subsidy policies on different types of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ESG has emerged as a prominent method for evaluating enterprises, gaining increasing importance in recent years. It assesses a company's ability to promote sustainable economic development and fulfill its social responsibilities, encompassing three non-financial dimensions: environmental, social, and corporate governance. Regulatory authorities, industry associations, and investment institutions worldwide have placed growing emphasis on a company's ESG performance. From the perspective of career concern, this study conducted a multiple regression analysis using data from Chinese A-share companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2011 to 2020. It used CEO shareholding and CEO political affiliation as moderating variables to examine the impact of CEO career concerns on the corporate environment, society, and corporate governance performance. Empirical testing of whether CEO career concerns promote or suppress the ESG performance in enterprises. The findings of this study reveal that CEOs with heightened career concerns tend to impede the ESG performance of their respective enterprises. Additionally, CEO shareholding and political affiliations exert a negative moderating influence on the relationship between CEO career concerns and ESG performance. This research significantly extends the investigation into factors influencing ESG performance, offering fresh perspectives that could inform improved CEO oversight, foster corporate transformation, and enhance ESG performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on a review of related concepts and theories this study investigates the different impacts of research and development (R&D) innovation and political background on corporate growth in a particular context. Unlike other studies, we integrate these two factors. We empirically analyze 6079 sets of data from 1292 A-share private manufacturing enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2012 to 2019. The results show that these factors directly impact corporate growth and have heterogeneous effects at different enterprise growth levels. We find the effect of R&D innovation on corporate growth is more pronounced for young firms. These findings highlight the need for firms to adjust their investments in R&D innovation and political backgrounds at different stages of development to adapt to different markets and political environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The green credit policy serves as a crucial instrument for achieving the dual objectives of optimal resource allocation and green development. It plays a pivotal role in curbing inefficient investments in innovation by enterprises. This research employs the PSM-DID method to effectively explore the practical effects of the green credit policy on the innovation inefficiency investments of heavily polluting enterprises in China. Examining the impact from the perspectives of environmental regulation and financial constraints, the study utilizes panel data from listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares markets spanning from 2010 to 2020. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) Green credit policy has proven effective in inhibiting the inefficient investment in innovation by heavily polluting enterprises when compared to non-heavily polluting enterprises. (2) Moreover, this effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises and regions with less financial development. (3) Mechanism testing reveals that the green credit policy can discourage corporate over-investment by influencing financing constraints and can alleviate under-investment through commercial credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, shopping centers not only provides commercial function but also serve as a public space. In this article, we take Nanshan district of Shenzhen as an example, based on the characteristics information of people activities provided by Mobile-phone Signaling Data, using the standard deviation ellipse method to classify the direction of people in shopping centers, and then applying the entropy weighting method to analyze the vitality factors of shopping centers from three perspectives: visitors' density, revisit rate, and the average length of stay. Finally, we analyzed the influence factors of the surrounding built environment based on correlation analysis to discuss the results with field survey data. The results show that (1) shopping centers in Nanshan District are classified into wide-area type and geo-regional type according to the gathering of visitors. The shopping centers with high comprehensive vitality are basically wide-area type. (2) The factors influencing the vitality of shopping centers are different between wide-area type and geo-regional type. The vitality of wide-area type is mainly influenced by the traffic accessibility and whether they are located in adjacent to large public spaces such as squares and green public; the vitality of geo-regional type shopping centers is mainly influenced by the number of people within a 15-minute walking circle, and the high-vitality of geo-regional shopping centers are generally located in densely populated areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation, based on digital technologies, has triggered economic growth in many industries and brought about production and service transformation in the manufacturing sector. As an important source of innovation output and a driving force for national economic development, it is of great significance to study the impact of digital transformation on innovation output in manufacturing companies. This study analyzes the effects of digital transformation on the quality, quantity, and overall innovation output of manufacturing companies from both the macro provincial-level digital transformation and micro enterprise-level digital transformation perspectives. Additionally, using data from manufacturing companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2012 to 2022, this study empirically tests the mechanism through which digital transformation affects innovation output from the perspectives of internal transaction costs and external transaction costs. The results show that digital transformation promotes overall improvement in innovation output of manufacturing companies and leads to improvements in both the quality and quantity of innovation output. Furthermore, the study finds that the effect of digital transformation on innovation output has a nonlinear characteristic under different levels of market competitiveness and market freedom. The mediation analysis reveals that the influence of digital transformation on innovation output can be attributed to the reduction of internal transaction costs and the enhancement of external transaction efficiency. In terms of digital policy formulation, it is necessary to coordinate the development of diverse and innovative digital infrastructure at the macro level with the micro-level ecosystems of enterprises, in order to reduce transaction costs within and outside innovative entities. Ultimately, it is essential for the government to foster a conducive free market environment that enhances transaction efficiency and timely regulates the excessive competition resulting from oligopolistic monopolies, thus maximizing the potential of digital transformation in promoting innovation output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital transformation is an emerging development opportunity for enterprises in the digital economy and comprehensively reflects the application of digital technology to production, operation, and management strategies. This study used data on A-share listed enterprises in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2007 to 2022 to examine the relationship between the digital transformation of enterprises and information efficiency of the capital market. Findings revealed that digital transformation can improve the information efficiency of the capital market and that environmental uncertainty plays a more significant regulatory role. The greater the environmental uncertainty, the more enterprises with a high degree of digital transformation can promote the information efficiency of the capital market. Additional analysis showed that the promotional effect of digital transformation on the information efficiency of the capital market is better for non-state-owned enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises. This study provides detailed insights into digital transformation and capital market information efficiency, which enriches the research related to the economic consequences of digital transformation and demonstrates the theoretical and practical value of corporate digital transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]