Media heterogeneity and corporate ESG performance: evidence from China

Based on a research sample of Chinese listed firms from 2010 to 2020, this study explores the heterogeneous roles of market-oriented and state-controlled media in affecting corporate ESG performance. We find that only negative coverage by market-oriented media can significantly promote corporate ESG, which remains robust for a series of tests. The mechanism analysis indicates that the different roles of negative market-oriented and state-controlled media coverage in ESG are due to their heterogeneous influence on corporate reputation. Moreover, these heterogeneous influences are affected by government intervention, analyst attention, and industries' pollution intensity. Finally, we show that doing more ESG as response to negative market-oriented media coverage is economically efficient and does not crowd out R&D investment.