How to Improve the Environmental, Social and Governance Performance of Chinese Construction Enterprises Based on the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Method

Abstract

The environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of construction enterprises still needs to be improved. Therefore, in order to better utilize resources effectively to improve enterprise ESG performance, this paper explores the configuration paths for Chinese construction enterprises to improve their ESG performance using the (fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis) fsQCA method. It was found that single conditions are not necessary to achieve high ESG performance. The improvement of the high ESG performance needs to be combined with synergistic effects of multiple conditions. The specific configuration paths consist of six types of conditions. They are the environmental goal and management-led improvement path, the environmental training and action-led improvement path, the environmental concept and partner protection joint-led improvement path, the environmental and social level synergistic improvement path and the two multifactorial composite improvement paths. Among them, the environmental concepts, environmental goal and management, environmental training and action, and partner protection are the core conditions. The other conditions also have a certain supporting role. This study will help the construction enterprises to effectively allocate resources and develop ESG strategies with limited resources. It will also provide a reference for the government to manage the ESG performance of enterprises.