›› 2020, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (2): 76-89.

• Economic and Financial Management • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A Study on the Interactive and Intertemporal Influence and Mechanism of Corporate Environmental Responsibility and Financial Performance

Zhang Chi1, Zhang Zhaoguo1, Bao Lili2   

  1. 1. School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074;
    2. School of Economics and Finance, Wuhan Business University, Wuhan 430056
  • Received:2019-02-23 Online:2020-02-29 Published:2020-03-07

Abstract:

A constructive interaction between corporate environmental responsibility and financial performance is essential for a company to actively take on environmental responsibility. The existing empirical researches on the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility and financial performance have not yet reached a consensus. This paper takes A-share listed companies of Shenzhen and Shanghai Stock Exchanges in heavy polluting industries from 2010 to 2017 as the research sample, and examines whether there is interaction between the environmental responsibility and financial performance of enterprises and the moderation effect of internal and external factors. The empirical research results show that:(1) corporate environmental responsibility has a positive impact on financial performance, and this positive impact is more significant in one and two lagging periods; (2) corporate financial performance has a positive impact on environmental responsibility, but the impact is not lagging; (3) managers' tenure expectancy, forward-looking environmental strategy and legal regulation all play positive moderation roles in the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility and financial performance; (4) industry competition plays a positive moderation role in the impact of corporate environmental responsibility on financial performance, and plays a negative moderation role in the impact of financial performance on corporate environmental responsibility. The research conclusions provide an empirical reference for enterprises to look, from a strategic perspective, at the relationship between corporate environmental responsibility and financial performance.

Key words: corporate environmental responsibility, financial performance, interactive and intertemporal influence, moderation mechanism