The impact of ESG performance on corporate value is contingent on regional and firm innovation capacity

This study addresses a research gap by examining how regional innovation capacity (RIC) and corporate R&D innovation capacity (RDC) moderate the relationship between ESG performance and corporate value. Using balanced panel data from Chinese listed companies between 2015 and 2022, comprising 15,376 firm-year observations, and applying SPSS-Process for quantitative analysis, the results show that ESG performance significantly enhances corporate value, particularly under conditions of strong RIC and RDC, thereby generating synergistic effects. By contrast, weak RIC and RDC lead to negative outcomes, indicating that insufficient innovation support can undermine the potential benefits of ESG initiatives. Overall, these findings highlight the conditional nature of ESG’s impact and demonstrate the critical role of both regional and internal innovation capacities in maximizing ESG-related value creation. Future research should extend this analysis to different regions and industries to further clarify the generalizability of these moderating effects.