Download pdf
The Impact of Social Security Fund Investment on Corporate ESG Performance
- 1 The University of Melbourne
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
As an important component of the capital market, the investment behavior of social security funds has increasingly drawn attention for its impact on corporate ESG performance. Based on data from publicly listed companies in China, this paper explores the influence of social security fund investment with respect to corporate ESG performance and its core mechanisms. The study finds that social security fund investment effectively enhances corporate ESG integration. Heterogeneity tests show that the relationship between the two varies across aspects such as auditor quality, information transparency, and analyst attention. This paper provides policy insights for optimizing social security fund investment strategies and enhancing corporate sustainability.
Keywords
Social security fund investment, ESG performance, Information transparency
[1]. Xiong, Wanfang, Mengming Dong, and Cheng Xu. "Institutional Investors and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from China." Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, 2023, 59(10): 3281-3292.
[2]. Chen, Yingyu, and Jun Ren. "How Does Digital Transformation Improve ESG Performance? Empirical Research from 396 Enterprises." International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, 2025, 21(01): 1-24.
[3]. Eccles, Robert G., Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim. "The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance." Management Science, 2014, 60(11): 2835-2857.
[4]. Lazonick, William, and Mary O'Sullivan. "Maximizing Shareholder Value: A New Ideology for Corporate Governance." Economy and Society, 2000, 29(1): 13-35.
[5]. Liu, Ningyue, and Andi Zhang. "The Impact of Social Security Fund & Insurance Fund on Corporate Innovation—2016 13th International Conference on Service Systems and Service Management (ICSSSM)." IEEE, 2016.
[6]. Macagnan, Clea Beatriz, et al. "Pension Funds: The Importance of Corporate Governance." Journal of Information Economics, 2024, 2(2): 24-45.
[7]. Shleifer, Andrei, and Robert W. Vishny. "A Survey of Corporate Governance." The Journal of Finance, 1997, 52(2): 737-783.
[8]. Son, Sungjin, and Jootae Kim. "Environment, Social, and Governance Performance and Financial Performance with National Pension Fund Investment: Evidence from Korea." Frontiers in Psychology, 2022, 13: 89.
[9]. Tang, Dapeng, Jiamei Wu, and Zhibin Chen. "Does the Social Security Fund Help Non-Financial Enterprises to Transform from the Virtual to the Real?" China Journal of Accounting Research, 2022, 15(2): 100238.
[10]. Ungphakorn, Teerapan. "Effects of Country-and Firm-Specific Factors on ESG Performance: A Cross-Country Analysis for Emerging Markets." Journal of Electrical Systems, 2024, 20(4): 1705-1714.
[11]. Wang, Jianye, et al. "Which Institutional Investors Can Improve the Level of Corporate ESG Information Disclosure?" Plos One, 2023, 18(11): e0290008.
[12]. Weiss, Erik, et al. "Prediction of Extraction Companies’ Development." ELIT–Economic Laboratory for Transition Research, 2023, 19(4): 7.
[13]. Bai, Ge. "The Impact of the Carbon Market Launch on Corporate ESG Performance: Empirical Analysis Based on Listed Companies." Technology Economics and Management Research, 2024, (10): 103-109.
[14]. Chang, Li, and Wu, Xiaonan. "Social Security Fund Investment, Strategic Social Responsibility, and Corporate Innovation." Research on Financial Issues, 2022, (07): 66-73.
[15]. Du, Qiuxuan, Jiang, Yan, and Hou, Deshuai. "Empirical Analysis of Social Security Fund Holdings and Corporate ESG Improvement." Insurance Research, 2023, (12): 55-70.
[16]. Du, Xingye. "Research on the Asset Management Model of Canadian Pension Plan Investment Companies." Insurance Theory and Practice, 2023, (09): 131-161.
[17]. He, Xinyi. "The Supervisory Role of Social Security Funds in Listed Company Governance." Financial Circle, 2010, (23): 31.
[18]. Huang, Jun, Liu, Hui, and Li, Yun. "Social Security Fund Holdings, Ownership Structure, and Corporate Social Responsibility Performance." China Certified Public Accountant, 2021, (08): 62-67.
[19]. Ni, Zhixing, Chen, Jiaying, and Li, Zengfu. "Social Security Fund Investment and Corporate ESG Performance." Journal of Financial Economics Research, 2024, 39(06): 108-123.
[20]. Shen, Ruicheng, and Song, Xiayun. "Social Security Fund Holdings and Corporate Financialization." Financial Studies, 2023, (02): 68-79.
[21]. Tang, Long, Li, Guangwu, and Wu, Haijun. "Can Social Security Fund Holdings Promote Enterprises from Virtual to Real? — Empirical Evidence from Listed Manufacturing Companies in China." Financial Forum, 2024, 29(05): 3-13 + 25.
[22]. Tang, Dapeng, and Wang, Meiqi. "Can Social Security Fund Holdings Reduce Earnings Management?" Financial Research, 2018, (04): 15-26.
[23]. Wang, Haifang, Niu, Mingtong, Bao, Jianbin, et al. "Executive Incentives and Corporate ESG Performance." Financial and Accounting Monthly, 2024, 45(14): 60-67.
[24]. Wang, Xue, and Liu, Qingyuan. "Does Analyst Attention Improve Corporate ESG Performance?" Modern Economic Exploration, 2024, (02): 51-66.
[25]. Wu, Di, and Liu, Bin. "How Institutional Investors Alleviate the Financing Constraints of Firms in Which They Hold Shares? — The Information Channel Effect of Heavy Financial Institutions." World Economic Review, 2021, (04): 89-104.
Cite this article
Hu,Y. (2025). The Impact of Social Security Fund Investment on Corporate ESG Performance. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,171,32-41.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Management Research and Economic Development
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).