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Published on: December 5, 2025
Institutional pressures, attention allocation, and corporate ESG performance.
1Business School, East China University of Science and Technology, No.130, Meilong Road, Xuhui District, Shanghai, 200237, China.
Journal of Environmental Management
|May 16, 2025
Summary
External pressures like coercive, normative, and imitative forces significantly boost corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. These pressures increase ESG attention, especially for non-state-owned firms.
Area of Science:
- Business and Management
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Institutional Theory
Background:
- Increasing complexity of the institutional environment necessitates greater focus on corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices.
- Firms face significant external institutional pressures influencing their ESG strategies and performance.
- Understanding the drivers of corporate ESG performance is crucial for sustainable development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between coercive, normative, and imitative institutional pressures and the ESG performance of Chinese A-share listed companies.
- To explore the mediating role of ESG attention and the moderating effect of organizational slack.
- To examine heterogeneity in the impact of institutional pressures across different types of firms.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative analysis of Chinese A-share listed company data from 2011 to 2021.
- Regression analysis to assess the impact of institutional pressures on ESG performance.
- Mediation and moderation analyses to understand the underlying mechanisms and contextual factors.
Main Results:
- Coercive, normative, and imitative institutional pressures significantly enhance corporate ESG performance.
- Increased ESG attention mediates the positive effect of institutional pressures on ESG performance.
- Organizational slack positively moderates the relationship between institutional pressures and ESG performance.
- The impact of multiple institutional pressures is more pronounced for non-state-owned companies, non-heavy polluters, and low-profit firms.
Conclusions:
- External institutional pressures are key drivers of improved corporate ESG performance.
- Firms can enhance ESG performance by increasing attention to ESG issues, influenced by institutional demands.
- Organizational slack plays a vital role in facilitating the positive effects of institutional pressures.
- Targeted strategies considering firm characteristics are essential for maximizing the benefits of institutional pressures for sustainable development.
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