"Good medicine is bitter" or "drinking poison to quench thirst"? The impact of maturity mismatch on corporate ESG performance.

• This paper sheds light on whether and how corporate maturity mismatch influences corporate ESG performance. • Maturity mismatch significantly reduces corporate ESG performance. • The impact of maturity mismatch on corporate ESG performance varies heterogeneously with different ownership and financing constraints. • Maturity mismatch affects corporate ESG performance by reducing governance performance and productive efficiency. The maturity mismatch can influence corporate behavior to some extent, so whether they affect corporate ESG performance becomes an issue worthy of attention. This paper verifies maturity mismatch's negative effect on corporate ESG performance. This inhibitory effect acts through governance performance and productive efficiency. Furthermore, the negative impact of maturity mismatch on corporate ESG performance varies heterogeneously with different ownership and financing constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]