Social credit system construction and corporate environmental performance: A quasi-natural experiment from China

This study explores the role of social credit system construction, an informal institution, in improving corporate environmental performance. To identify the causal connections between social credit and corporate environmental performance, the progressive difference-in-differences (DID) method is adopted by introducing the social credit system construction pilots aiming to improve the social credit environment of China as a quasi-natural experiment. Empirical results imply that social credit system constructions exert a significant improvement effect on corporate environmental performance. In addition, corporate innovation, financial constraints alleviation, and the strengthening of environmental cases enforcement are three effective action mechanisms by which social credit system constructions helping improve corporate environmental performance. Moreover, this promotion effect presents heterogeneity characteristics due to enterprises ownership and the environmental pollution degree of the city where the enterprise is located. This study provides an informal institutional perspective for the green development of enterprises.