Building Bridges, Not Walls: Financial and Social Synergies for Advancing Corporate Sustainability

Weijia Xue; Wenjun Lyu

doi:10.6981/FEM.202603_7(3).0002

Authors

Weijia Xue
Wenjun Lyu

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.6981/FEM.202603_7(3).0002

Keywords:

Green Bonds; Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP); Green Ambidextrous Innovation Balance; Social Trust; Difference-in-Differences.

Abstract

Achieving China’s dual carbon goals requires both financial innovation and social trust to advance corporate sustainability. This study examines how green bond issuance promotes corporate green transformation and how social trust moderates its effectiveness. Drawing on panel data from A-share listed companies from 2014 to 2021, we measure Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP) via a Super-SBM model incorporating carbon emissions as undesirable outputs, along with the Global Malmquist-Luenberger index. A progressive difference-in-differences approach supports the empirical analysis. The results show that green bonds significantly enhance GTFP. They also stimulate green ambidextrous innovation-balancing exploratory and exploitative activities-which mediates this effect. Social trust further amplifies this mechanism. These effects are more pronounced in regions with developed financial infrastructure, lower pollution intensity, and stronger emergence of new quality productive forces. The findings highlight the synergy between green finance and social capital in promoting the low-carbon transition of Chinese enterprises.

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