Executives' Overseas Background and Corporate ESG Performance: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Companies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/5qd82t14Keywords:
overseas background, corporate executives, ESG performance, upper echelons theory.Abstract
As capital-market governance systems continue to improve, investors no longer rely solely on operating indicators to assess corporate development. ESG performance has become an important criterion for evaluating the long-term development potential of listed companies. Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2023, this study empirically examines the effect of executives' overseas background on corporate ESG performance and its underlying mechanisms based on upper echelons theory. The results show that a chairman with an overseas background significantly improves corporate ESG performance, and this finding remains robust across a series of robustness checks. Heterogeneity analysis shows that this effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, large firms, and younger firms. Mechanism tests further indicate that executives' overseas background improves audit report disclosure and the effectiveness of internal control, thereby enhancing corporate ESG performance. These findings enrich the literature on the determinants of corporate ESG performance and provide empirical evidence for improving firms' ESG performance.
Downloads
References
[1] Gogia, D., Virk, N., & Mathur, A. (2026). Size-based and sectoral dynamics of ESG performance: A panel data analysis. Cogent Business & Management. Advance online publication.
[2] Jung, Y. L., & Yoo, H. S. (2023). Environmental, social, and governance activities and firm performance: Global evidence and the moderating effect of market competition. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, *30*(6), 2835–2850. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2517
[3] Akhter, W., & Hassan, A. (2024). Does corporate social responsibility mediate the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance? Empirical evidence from BRICS countries. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, *31*(4), 3145–3161. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2725
[4] Wang, Y., Lin, Y., & Fu, X. (2023). Institutional ownership heterogeneity and ESG performance: Evidence from China. Finance Research Letters, *58*(Part B), 104527. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104527
[5] Wang, S. F., & Esperança, J. P. (2023). Can digital transformation improve market and ESG performance? Evidence from Chinese SMEs. Journal of Cleaner Production, *418*, 138107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.138107
[6] Carpenter, M. A., Geletkanycz, M. A., & Sanders, W. G. (2004). Upper echelons research revisited: Antecedents, elements, and consequences of top management team composition. Journal of Management, *30*(6), 749–778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jm.2004.06.001
[7] Wang, R., Zhou, Y. T., Chen, J. J., Huang, R. Q., & Zhang, S. Y. (2024). Overseas experience background of top management teams and corporate innovation. Management Review, *36*(7), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.14120/j.cnki.cn11-5057/f.2024.07.009
[8] Zhang, Z. T., Yao, Z. J., Lu, Q., & Ma, J. (2023). Can overseas experience of senior executives promote corporate green innovation? Foreign Economics and Management, *45*(4), 120–134. https://doi.org/10.16538/j.cnki.fem.2023.04.008
[9] Wen, W., & Song, J. B. (2017). Overseas background of senior executives and corporate social responsibility. Management Science, *30*(2), 119–131.
[10] Du, Y., Zhang, H., & Chen, J. Y. (2018). CEO overseas experience and corporate earnings management. Accounting Research, (2), 27–33.
[11] Zhang, C. Q., Li, Y. Q., & Li, J. W. (2024). Can executives' green experience enhance corporate ESG performance? Empirical evidence from Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies. Modern Management Science, (3), 115–123.
[12] Zheng, C. M., Lyu, J. R., & Li, W. Y. (2026). Government environmental attention and corporate ESG performance: The mediating role of top management team environmental awareness and corporate innovation. Science and Technology Progress and Policy, *43*(1), 89–98. https://doi.org/10.6049/kjjbydc.2025030243
[13] Zeng, P., Xiao, J., Li, D. W., et al. (2025). Dual institutional pressures, green innovation, and corporate environmental performance: The moderating role of environmental ethics. Journal of Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management, *39*(2), 56–68. https://doi.org/10.13587/j.cnki.jieem.2025.02.005
[14] Fang, Y., Yu, D. D., & Wang, X. Y. (2025). Capital market time horizon, managerial learning, and corporate ESG performance. Journal of Econometrics, *5*(1), 135–154. https://doi.org/10.12006/j.issn.2096-9487.2025.01.008
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
