ESG Performance and Corporate M&A Behavior—Based on the Dual Perspectives of the Quantity and Quality of M&As

In recent years, the phenomenon of excessively inefficient M&As by listed companies has become increasingly serious, negatively affecting the stability of the capital market and the benign development of enterprises. In view of this, we select A-share nonfinancial listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2012 to 2022 as the research sample, and use a series of methods such as OLS, PSM, and 2SLS, to explore the impact of ESG performance and corporate M&A behavior. The results show that good ESG performance can effectively reduce the size of M&As and excess goodwill, with agency cost, reputational constraint, and innovation crowding-out as the key transmission paths. The inhibitory effect is more pronounced in privately held firms and firms with higher management shareholding. Furthermore, firms can improve M&A market performance. This study provides a reference for encouraging firms to actively implement ESG concepts and carry out high-quality M&As and restructurings.