Publication Type

PhD Dissertation

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

4-2026

Abstract

Against the backdrop of intensifying global ecological crises, the ESG evaluation system has become a core metric for corporate sustainable development worldwide. However, the Western-dominated ESG system lacks crucial cultural dimensions in its application within Chinese corporate practices. The ecological wisdom embedded in the Taoist concept of “Harmony between Humanity and Nature” offers a significant philosophical foundation for the ESG localization. Extant research has focused on the influence of Confucian culture on ESG, with insufficient exploration of the modern managerial value of “Harmony between Humanity and Nature”. A scientific coupling framework linking this concept with ESG indicators has yet to be established, and empirical evidence from the chemical industry remains scarce.

This study adopts a three-stage research design, theoretical construction, expert rating-based coupling, and empirical validation, to construct a coupling framework between 17 indicators of ESG and 4 dimensions of “Harmony between Humanity and Nature”. An improved Delphi method was employed to select experts with 14 interdisciplinary fields for expert interview and rating, and then, an empirical test using two-way fixed-effects panel regression and mediation effect analysis was conducted with a sample of 726 A-share listed chemical companies in China from 2020 to 2024.

Three key findings are drawn as follows. 1) The four dimensions of “Harmony between Humanity and Nature” exhibit moderate to strong coupling with ESG indicators, with Governance indicator showing the highest average coupling degree, and Law Alignment Between Humanity and Nature serving as the primary driving dimension of this coupling; 2) The application of the “Harmony between Humanity and Nature” has a significant positive relationship with both technological innovation and corporate performance in chemical enterprises, improving the explanatory power by 11% to 16% compared to the traditional ESG evaluation system, thereby offering independent marginal explanatory advantages; and 3) Technological innovation plays a partial mediating role in this relationship, with the mediating effect of patent output accounting for 21.28% of the total effect, representing a crucial path through which cultural value translates into corporate performance.

This study expands the Eastern cultural connotations of ESG and fills a research gap on integrating the Taoist “Harmony between Humanity and Nature” into modern corporate management. In addition, it provides actionable pathways for the green transformation of chemical enterprises and contributes a Chinese approach to the ESG localization and the diversification of global ESG evaluation system.

Keywords

Harmony between Humanity and Nature, ESG, Technological Innovation, Corporate Performance, Coupling Framework, Chemical Industry

Degree Awarded

SMU-SJTU Doctor of Business Administration

Discipline

Corporate Finance | Finance and Financial Management

Supervisor(s)

LIANG, Hao

First Page

1

Last Page

134

Publisher

Singapore Management University

City or Country

Singapore

Copyright Owner and License

Author

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