Time/时间：12月5日（周五）10:00-11:30

Venue/地点：Room 501, Jiageng Building 2/嘉庚二号楼501教室

Topic/题目：Taking ESG Strategy—Sustainable Development of Family

Speaker/报告人：柯钊晖博士研究生

Facilitator/主持人：王荔红教授

Abstract/摘要：

This study explores how family involvement affects the ESG strategic engagement of Chinese family businesses, using a sample of 625 Chinese A-share listed family firms with 5,611 firm-year observations from 2013 to 2022. We find that family involvement, encompassed by family ownership, family control, family members holding chairman/CEO positions, and second-generation involvement—exerts a positive impact on family businesses’ ESG strategic engagement. The findings remain robust after addressing endogeneity via instrumental variable two-stage regression, restricting the sample, and using one-period lag of explanatory variables. Mediating mechanism analysis shows that family involvement drives ESG strategic engagement by aligning socioemotional wealth preservation (based on socioemotional wealth theory) and shaping an "ESG-ready" organizational structure (rooted in Organizational Architecture theory). It also reveals the positive relationship is stronger in regions with higher clan culture intensity, stronger law enforcement, and for firms with higher internationalization degrees, while more potential successors weaken the positive effect of second-generation involvement on ESG strategy. Further analyses indicate ESG strategic engagement boosts family firms’ long-term value, and the positive impact of family involvement on ESG strategy is more pronounced in manufacturing, large-scale, and technology-intensive family businesses. In regions with higher clan culture insensity, a male-dominated heir structure enhances ESG engagement in the social dimension. This study highlights the key role of family involvement in promoting ESG strategic engagement in family businesses, offering insights for family firm managers, policymakers, and investors.

About the Speaker/报告人简介：

财务管理与会计研究院2022级博士研究生，研究领域为公司治理、公司金融、企业绿色发展。