The impact of executive cognitive characteristics on a firm’s ESG performance: an institutional theory perspective

In the current global landscape, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) serves as a vital metric for measuring the sustainable development level of listed companies. With respect to this matter, government departments and company managers have gradually taken notice of the company’s ESG performance. This paper proposed a theoretical model that integrates Scott’s institutional theory and the social embedding theory to evaluate the cognitive characteristics of top managers. Focusing on the period spanning from 2011 to 2020, an examination was conducted on the influence of executive cognitive characteristics on the ESG performance of enterprises under the moderating effect of local fiscal intervention. The empirical analysis results highlighted that executive compensation incentives, educational background, and political association had a promoting effect on the ESG performance of enterprises. Equally crucial, the greater the level of political correlation among executives, the less beneficial it is for the advancement of ESG performance among enterprises. Further research results underlined that local fiscal intervention had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between executive compensation incentives, educational levels, and political association levels on enterprise ESG performance, that is, in areas where there is a significant degree of local fiscal intervention. Ultimately, local fiscal intervention weakens the relationship between executive characteristics and ESG performance.