Research on the impact of e-commerce on corporate ESG performance: disclosure mechanism, greenwashing behavior and substantive performance

Abstract E-commerce (EC) promotes the effective connection between enterprises and the market, and provides a platform and application scenario for the value conversion of enterprise ESG information. In order to clarify the linkage characteristics between EC and enterprise ESG performance and the function mechanism, this paper examines the relationship between EC on enterprise ESG performance in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2010 to 2023. Research found that: (1) EC significantly suppresses corporate greenwashing (GW) behavior. (2) EC suppresses corporate GW behavior by strengthening ESG information disclosure. After parallel trend testing, multi period DID, and placebo testing, the above results remain robust. Further analysis shows that: (1) EC significantly promotes ESG performance. (2) In enterprises with high levels of green innovation, EC has a significant impact on their ESG performance; On the contrary, in companies with low levels of green innovation, EC has no significant impact on their ESG performance. It reveals the influence and ways of EC on the ESG performance of enterprises under the background of high-quality sustainable development of economy, enriches the research on EC and the ESG performance of enterprises, and provides certain theoretical support and practical enlightenment for the sustainable development of enterprises.