ESG Greenwashing or Sustainability? Evidence from Chinese Corporate Green Mergers and Acquisitions

In recent years, with the emergence of the “greenwashing” problem caused by asset divestments by enterprises, whether green mergers and acquisitions can significantly curb this greenwashing behavior is a very worthwhile research question in the context of sustainable development becoming a long-term competitive strategy for enterprises. This paper analyzes the relevant data of A-share listings in China from 2014 to 2023 and concludes that corporate green mergers and acquisitions have a certain negative impact on ESG greenwashing through three mechanisms: reducing financing constraints, enhancing social reputation, and suppressing managerial shortsightedness. And this correlational negative impact has a stronger effect due to the business relationship between the acquiring and acquired companies, the strong regulatory intensity of the environment in which the acquired company is located, and the fact that the main acquiring company is in a first-tier city. This study not only breaks the inherent cognitive shackles of “greenwashing” opportunistic behavior in green mergers and acquisitions, the opposite of corporate asset divestment, but also provides theoretical support for companies to achieve long-term sustainable development through green mergers and acquisitions.