Research On The Impact Of Multiple Major Shareholders On ESG Performance Of Enterprises

In recent years,the aggravation of global environmental pollution,frequent occurrence of extreme climate events,global warming and deepening of social contradictions have brought great challenges to the economic development of all countries in the world.As an important starting point for green development and the “carbon peak,carbon neutral” strategy,ESG has become a hot topic highly valued and widely concerned by government departments,academia,and practitioners.In the current field of corporate governance,there is a widespread ownership structure with multiple major shareholders coexisting.Due to the relatively limited role of independent directors and external directors,the active participation of non-controlling major shareholders in corporate decision-making and governance has become an important choice for some listed companies.Existing research has focused on the impact of ownership concentration,management characteristics,board structure,and external environmental shocks on ESG performance.Some studies have also explored the important role of multiple major shareholders in corporate decision-making.However,few studies have focused on the relationship between multiple major shareholders and corporate ESG performance and its mechanism.Using data from A-share listed companies in China from 2006 to 2021,this paper constructs an empirical model to examine the impact of multiple major shareholders on ESG performance and the moderating effect of external audit supervision.The empirical results show that multiple major shareholders have a significant negative impact on ESG performance.The higher the quality of external audit,the weaker the negative impact of multiple major shareholders on ESG.Heterogeneity analysis found that the negative impact of multiple major shareholders on ESG performance only exists in state-owned enterprises,enterprises with small asset sizes,and companies with low management shareholding ratios.This paper reveals the mechanism of the influence of multiple major shareholders on corporate ESG performance,which not only enriches the research literature on the influencing factors of corporate ESG performance and the economic consequences of multiple major shareholders,but also provides empirical evidence and management inspiration for enterprises to improve corporate governance and fulfill social responsibilities in the context of green development.