ESG Quality, Attention, and Enterprise Value: An Empirical Analysis of Chinese A-Share Listed Companies

With the growing prominence of environmental issues, sustainable development has become a global consensus.Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors have emerged as key focal points for companies and their stakeholders.Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, a comprehensive indicator of attention was constructed from a stakeholder perspective to examine the interactions and mechanisms among ESG quality, attention, and enterprise value.Findings indicate that enhanced ESG performance significantly contributes to increased enterprise value, with attention serving as a critical mediating factor in the relationship between ESG performance and enterprise value.Furthermore, notable differences were observed in this process based on firm ownership, with ESG performance exerting a more substantial impact on enterprise value within state-owned enterprises.These insights offer valuable perspectives for companies on how to leverage improved ESG performance to enhance enterprise value.