State Ownership, Managerial Political Ties and ESG Performance: Evidence from China

This study explores the role state ownership and managerial political ties play in Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) performance in China. The results show an inverted U-shaped association between state ownership and ESG performance. As state ownership rises, ESG performance initially improves; beyond the tipping point, further increases in state ownership lead to a decline in ESG performance. When considering the effects of an interaction between state ownership and managerial political ties on ESG performance, results further indicate that managerial political ties moderate the inverted U-shaped association between state ownership and ESG performance.