Does corporate sustainable development still promote corporate financial performance during global crises? Empirical Study from China

Figures & data

Figure 1. Province-wide distribution of sample.

Figure 2. Industry-wise sample allocation.

Table 1. Province-wise sample allocation

Provinces	Number of Observations
Anhui (province)	1,238
Beijing (city)	3,390
Chongqing (city)	578
Fujian (province)	1,412
Gansu (province)	402
Guangdong (Province)	5,861
Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region	454
Guizhou (province)	327
Hainan (province)	410
Hebei (province)	685
Heilongjiang (province)	482
Henan (province)	942
Hubei (province)	1,314
Hunan (province)	1,138
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	365
Jiangsu (province)	3,858
Jiangxi (province)	577
Jilin (province)	558
Liaoning (province)	941
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region	182
Qinghai (province)	153
Shaanxi (province)	589
Shandong (province)	2,241
Shanghai (city)	3,173
Shanxi (province)	515
Sichuan (province)	1,381
Tianjin (city)	605
Tibet Autonomous Region	176
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region	647
Yunnan (province)	458
Zhejiang (Province)	4,215
Grand Total	39,272

Table 2. Variables measurement

Variables Name	Measurement	Data Source
ROA	Return on assets is calculated by dividing a firm’s net income by the average of its total assets.	The CSMAR Economic and Financial Research Database
CSD	Corporate Sustainable Development represents the companies regularly publishing the CSR statement and CES statement. We allocated the ‘2’ number for the companies that regularly publish their CSD reports and ‘1’ to the rest ones.	The CSMAR Economic and Financial Research Database
Debt to Equity	The debt-to-equity ratio is calculated by dividing a company’s total liabilities by its shareholder equity.	The CSMAR Economic and Financial Research Database
Total Assets	Log of total assets	The CSMAR Economic and Financial Research Database

Table 3. Descriptive statistics

Variables	Mean	Median	S. Dev.	Kurtosis	Skewness
ROA	0.0500	0.0500	0.185	−15.50	11.40
CSD	1.643	1.643	0.479	1	2
Debt to Equity	1.260	1.260	2.127	−10.87	29.57
Total Assets	9.504	9.504	0.637	7.886	12.61

Table 4. Correlation matrix

	ROA	CSD	Debt on Equity	Total Assets
ROA	1.000
CSD	0.003**	1.000
Debt on Equity	−0.073***	0.017***	1.000
Total Assets	−0.039***	0.326***	0.360***	1.000

Note: *p < 0.1, p** < 0.05, ***p < 0.01

Table 5. VIF analysis

Variables	VIF	1/VIF
CSD	1.13	0.882
Debt to Equity	1.16	0.859
Total Assets	1.30	0.768
Mean VIF	1.20

Table 6. Effect of sustainable development on financial performance – full sample

Variables	Without Effects	With Time Fixed Effects	With Industry Fixed Effects
CSD	0.004** (0.002)	0.018*** (0.002)	0.004* (0.002)
Debt to Equity	−0.006*** (0.000)	−0.006*** (0.000)	−0.006*** (0.000)
Total Assets	−0.005*** (0.001)	−0.004** (0.001)	−0.007*** (0.001)
F Statistics	74.46***	26.92***	7.28***
Breusch-Pagan Test	11660	9012	4185
Hausman Test	0.435	0.423	0.369
Adj R Square	0.005	0.011	0.013

Note: P-values in parentheses, *p < 0.1, p** < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. See Table 2 for variables definitions.

Table 7. Effect of sustainable development on financial performance – global recession (2008–10)

Variables	Without Effects	With Time Fixed Effects	With Industry Fixed Effects
CSD	0.024*** (0.005)	0.025*** (0.005)	0.021*** (0.006)
Debt to Equity	−0.007*** (0.001)	−0.007*** (0.001)	−0.008*** (0.001)
Total Assets	−0.001*** (0.004)	−0.004 (0.001)	−0.007 (0.005)
F Statistics	21.38***	12.86***	2.99***
Breusch-Pagan Test	846	834	169
Hausman Test	0.548	0.512	0.497
Adj R Square	0.011	0.010	0.027

Note: P-values in parentheses, *p < 0.1, p** < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. See Table 2 for variables definitions.

Table 8. Effect of sustainable development on financial performance – Covid-19 (2019–20)

Variables	Without Effects	With Time Fixed Effects	With Industry Fixed Effects
CSD	0.029*** (0.006)	0.028*** (0.006)	0.020*** (0.006)
Debt to Equity	−0.006*** (0.000)	−0.006*** (0.000)	−0.007*** (0.000)
Total Assets	−0.009*** (0.002)	−0.008*** (0.002)	−0.008*** (0.003)
F Statistics	37.47***	29.40***	4.25***
Breusch-Pagan Test	607	479	223
Hausman Test	0.487	0.432	0.421
Adj R Square	0.013	0.014	0.033

Note: P-values in parentheses, *p < 0.1, p** < 0.05, ***p < 0.01. See Table 2 for variables definitions.