| Author: | Tai, Kwan Tat |
| Title: | How foreign institutional investors' ESG preferences affect A-share companies' ESG performance |
| Advisors: | Cho, Vincent (MM) |
| Degree: | D.B.A. |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Department: | Faculty of Business |
| Pages: | 108 pages |
| Language: | English |
| Abstract: | This study examines how foreign institutional investors' ESG orientation is associated with the ESG performance of Chinese A-share listed firms, focusing on Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) during 2018-2023. Drawing on institutional theory, it argues that foreign influence is multidimensional and operationalizes QFII presence through (i) investors' home-country ESG normative quality, (ii) ownership intensity, and (iii) a commitment proxy based on approval tenure. Using an unbalanced firm-year panel of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share firms with Huazheng ESG scores and QFII ownership from Wind/CSMAR, and sovereign ESG indicators from Refinitiv/LSEG, the analysis combines pooled OLS and quantile regression to assess both average associations and distributional heterogeneity. Pooled OLS suggests a positive association between QFII ownership intensity and firms' composite ESG scores, while home-country ESG quality and the tenure-based commitment proxy show limited mean effects. Quantile estimates reveal pronounced heterogeneity: ownership intensity is positively associated with ESG performance among lower-ESG firms but weakens and turns negative toward the upper tail, consistent with diminishing marginal returns and potential frictions near the ESG frontier. In contrast, home-country ESG quality becomes positive and statistically meaningful mainly among high-ESG firms, consistent with an absorptive-capacity threshold in translating sophisticated external norms into measurable ESG outcomes. The tenure proxy provides no robust evidence of a positive commitment effect, highlighting the need for behavior-based stewardship measures. Overall, the findings qualify "more foreign ownership → better ESG" narratives by showing where different QFII attributes matter across the ESG distribution and by underscoring the value of distribution-sensitive inference in ESG research and policy. |
| Rights: | All rights reserved |
| Access: | restricted access |
Files in This Item:
| File | Description | Size | Format | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9073.pdf | For All Users (off-campus access for PolyU Staff & Students only) | 1.07 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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