Listing-Time PE Involvement, ESG Talk–Do Correspondence, and Private Firms’ Productive Development

Abstract

Using panel data on Chinese A-share listed private enterprises from 2009 to 2023, this study examines the relationships among listing-time private equity (PE) backing, ESG communication, externally rated ESG practices, and subsequent total factor productivity (TFP). TFP is interpreted as the economic-efficiency and productive-capacity dimension of sustainable corporate development rather than a comprehensive sustainability measure. ESG Talk captures annual-report textual attention or disclosure salience, whereas ESG Do is a third-party rating-based proxy for observable ESG practices or outcomes. In the baseline specification, which contains 12,327 firm-year observations, listing-time PE backing is positively associated with TFP (β=0.0185, p<0.01), although the estimate is sensitive to balancing and richer adjustment for persistent firm heterogeneity. Within the post-listing age 0–6 sample, Social Talk is positively associated with Social Do across all four industry groups examined, while overlap-weighted Talk–Do configuration contrasts do not show that High Talk–High Do firms have higher TFP. Environmental evidence is weaker and more conditional. The results provide bounded conditional associations and exploratory pathway evidence, not identified causal or mediation effects.