Linking low-carbon practices with ESG performances: Exploration evidence from the configurational perspective

Corporates face high uncertainty ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) outcomes when they strive to convert their low-carbon practices (LCPs) into sustainable business opportunities. This study aims to explore the complex causation behind corporates' LCPs and uncertain ESG performances and reveal the collaboration effect among single pillars of ESG on LCPs in practice. Based on the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method (fsQCA), this study investigated the LCPs of Chinese listed firms from the start-up to developmental stages in three dimensions (environmental, social, and governance). Seven equivalent configurations of the LCPs with high ESG performance were found in 2015 and 2019, which are classified into triple-dimension collaborative (Ha1, Ha2, Hb1, and Hb2), dual-dimension supportive (Ha3 and Hb4), and single-dimension driven (Hb3) types. Comparing across stages, the core presenting factors display a change of configurations focuses from resource-dependency to disclosure-support, signifying the reducing constraint of internal resources on daily LCPs in the later developing stage while the increasing reliance on information disclosure. The single-dimension driven configuration in the later stage further reveals the existence of a weak causal link between corporates' ESG outcomes and LCPs because of the dominant reliance on information disclosure and lacking substantive inputs and outputs. By introducing social logic value, configurations offer practical guidelines for corporates' LCPs implementations to gain a win-win situation and provide valuable insights into the identification of opportunistic behaviors assessment.