How Networks Shape the <scp>ESG</scp> –Resilience Link: A Multi‐Level Analysis

ABSTRACT Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance has become a crucial factor in determining a firm's resilience and strategic agility in the evolving capital markets environment. This study examines how ESG practices contribute to organizational resilience through the mediating role of dynamic capabilities and the moderating effect of social network embedding, operationalized via board directors' social capital (centrality and structural holes). The proposed framework is tested using moderated mediation models on panel data from 7560 A‐share companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2013 to 2022. The findings demonstrate three major findings. First, ESG performance significantly enhances firms' dynamic capabilities, which include innovation, adaptation, and absorptive capacity, thereby strengthening their resilience to external shocks. Second, a stronger board network position amplifies the ESG‐capability link. Third, heterogeneity analyses reveal that the ESG‐resilience nexus is more pronounced in eastern regions, among large‐scale firms, non‐state‐owned enterprises, and in post‐pandemic periods. According to the study, ESG is a strategic resource. It highlights the role of director networks in the process of utilizing ESG investments to promote the long‐term sustainability of organizations. These results can contribute to the body of research on dynamic capabilities and stakeholder governance by providing a cross‐level model that incorporates sustainability, network theory, and resilience in emerging market environments.