Green business practices and corporate financialization: Role of female directors in Chinese small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

Abstract

This study examines the impact of green business practices (GBP) on firm financialization and, analyzes the moderating role of female directorship in China. A-share listed non-financial firms are sampled (total 1049 firms including 284 small and medium enterprises [SMEs]) from Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2009 to 2020. OLS and fixed-effects regression techniques are applied and the results show a significantly positive relationship between GBP and firms’ financialization level (FIN) in the whole sample. Also, greater female directorship strengthens this relationship in Chinese firms. However, for SMEs in China, this study does not support a relationship between GBP and firm financialization. Nonetheless, the moderating role of female directorship is more significant among SMEs. The findings of this study may assist policymakers in devising policies tailored separately for SMEs and non-SMEs in China.