Green voices: how retail investors shape corporate environmental commitments?

Using data from the Chinese investor interactive platforms, this study finds that interactions between retail investors and firms regarding environmental issues lead to higher corporate environmental investments, primarily because these interactions reduce myopic management behaviour, thereby increasing firms' environmental investments. Further analysis reveals that this effect is particularly pronounced in private firms, those with lower financing constraints, and firms located in cities with heightened environmental awareness. Our findings shed light on the economic consequences of external stakeholders' interventions in environmental issues.