From values to value: exploring the dual impact of national spirit on corporate ESG performance

Tan, Weijie; Liu, Yiqian; Dong, Qi; Haviour Chen, Xihui

Abstract

Purpose
National spirit, as a powerful legitimacy trait, shapes the consistency of a firm’s financial decisions, employee engagement and sustainability strategies. Combining this with resource-based view (RBV) theory, the study empirically examines the dual impact of national spirit on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance.

Design/methodology/approach
This paper utilizes data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2022 and employs machine learning methods to construct enterprise-level indicators of national spirit. In addition, the paper scrapes nearly 3 million ESG-related online news articles from the Baidu news website and uses machine learning methods to measure media ESG attention and sentiment.

Findings
The findings reveal that national spirit significantly enhances corporate ESG performance, operating through both internal and external channels: promoting social financing and boosting employee morale. Further analysis indicates that the positive influence of national spirit on corporate ESG performance is more pronounced in private enterprises, companies facing higher levels of credit constraints and firms in polluting industries. Additionally, managerial shortsightedness weakens the sustainable value of national spirit, while external media ESG attention and regional ESG governance efforts further strengthen this effect. Furthermore, different dimensions of national spirit exhibit varying impacts on corporate ESG performance.

Practical implications
This study provides new insights for promoting sustainable development systems in emerging economies and understanding the role of national spirit in corporate social responsibility investments.

Originality/value
This paper shifts the study of national spirit from macro-level cultural analyses to a micro-level perspective. It bridges gaps in the literature by providing empirical evidence on the role of national spirit as a soft resource that influences corporate financial behavior and employee morale. This study provides new insights into promoting sustainable development systems in emerging economies and understanding the role of national spirit in corporate social responsibility investments.

Citation

Tan, W., Liu, Y., Dong, Q., & Haviour Chen, X. (2025). From values to value: exploring the dual impact of national spirit on corporate ESG performance. Journal of Accounting Literature, 1-34. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-08-2024-0222

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 6, 2025
• Publication Date: Jan 31, 2025
• Deposit Date: Mar 28, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 28, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Accounting Literature
• Print ISSN: 0737-4607
• Electronic ISSN: 2452-1469
• Publisher: Emerald
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-34
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JAL-08-2024-0222
• Keywords: Corporate National Spirit, ESG, Resource-based view, social financing, Employee Morale
• Public URL: https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1054215
• Publisher URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jal-08-2024-0222/full/pdf