ESG Performance and Tourism Enterprise Value: Impact Effects and Mechanism Analysis

Abstract

In the context of global sustainable development, ESG has assumed a pivotal role in evaluating corporate performance. To identify the causal effect of ESG disclosure on firm value, we implement a difference-in-differences (DID) analysis using panel data from A-share listed tourism companies between 2012 and 2020. The study revealed that ESG disclosure has significantly increased tourism corporate value by alleviating financing constraints, reducing financial risks, and attracting green investors. The validity of our conclusion is affirmed through a series of robustness checks, including the parallel trend test, placebo test, bacon decomposition, propensity score matching (PSM), and system generalized method of moments (GMM). Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive impact of ESG disclosure on the value of tourism firms is more pronounced in samples with state-owned property nature, a separation of CEO and chairman roles, and low green total factor productivity. Furthermore, this effect is significantly stronger for firms in the accommodation and catering and tourism sightseeing sectors. This study contributes by empirically validating the internal transmission channels through which ESG performance affects firm value in the tourism sector, while also demonstrating the heterogeneous nature of this relationship, thereby providing nuanced evidence for developing differentiated ESG strategies.