ESG Information Conflict and Corporate Resilience: The Evidence of ESG Rating Divergence

We explore the role of ESG rating divergence (ESGRD) in the sustainable development of firms from the perspective of organizational resilience. Using Chinese ESG ratings and listed firm data, we examine the impact of ESGRD on firm resilience and find that it significantly reduces firm resilience. We further examine the mechanisms by which ESGRD affects firm resilience through information and financing channels. The findings demonstrate the positive role of the information channel and the negative role of the financing channel through which ESGRD affects firm resilience. The positive impact of ESGRD on firm resilience by reducing analyst forecast divergence is lower than the negative impact on firm resilience by increasing financing constraints. In addition, the negative correlation between ESGRD and corporate resilience is more pronounced in firms with lower information transparency, lower analyst attention, and higher ESG decoupling. Our research provides new evidence for ESGRD’s economic consequences at the firm level. JEL Classification: G12, G23, G32.