Business Strategy and the Environment
Unlocking the Relationship Between Corporate Environmental Performance and Financial Outcomes Under National Environmental Policy Framework: Panel Evidence From China
ABSTRACT This study examines the relationship between corporate environmental performance (CEP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) under China's evolving environmental policy regime. Using a panel dataset of 1,312 Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2010 to 2023, we find a significant negative association between CEP and CFP. The findings challenge the assumption that improved CEP necessarily enhances financial outcomes and suggest that, in emerging markets, environmental improvement may impose short‐term fina …