A Study of the Impact of ESG on Total Factor Productivity in a Dual-Carbon Context—Based on the Moderating Role of CEOs’ Overseas Experience

Abstract

With the proposal of “peak carbon and carbon neutrality”, the attention given to sustainable development has been increasing both at home and abroad. Starting from the background of “dual-carbon”, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between corporate ESG performance and total factor productivity through a fixed-effect model using the data of A-share listed companies in China from 2011 to 2021, and introduces the CEOs’ overseas experience as a moderator variable (the CEOs’ overseas experience is binary, and CEO performance is irrelevant) to analyze the mechanism of the impact of ESG performance on total factor productivity. The study found that good ESG performance of enterprises can significantly promote the improvement of total factor productivity, and CEOs’ overseas experience can positively regulate the promotion effect of ESG performance on enterprises’ total factor productivity. The conclusions of this paper provide theoretical support and practical references for guiding enterprises to practice ESG concepts, improving total factor productivity, realizing comprehensive green transformation, and upgrading and promoting high-quality economic and social development, as well as high-level construction of the ecological environment.