金融科技是否會(huì)有效阻止操縱ESG數(shù)據(jù)的行為？-Does FinTech efficiently hamper manipulating ESG data behavior

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DoesFinTechefficientlyhampermanipulatingESGdatabehavior?DangyangZhang,CaoWang,YurunHE,SamuelA.Vigne

PII:S0890-8389(24)00274-9

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/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101494

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Toappearin:TheBritishAccountingReview

ReceivedDate:14June2024

RevisedDate:14August2024

AcceptedDate:23September2024

Pleasecitethisarticleas:Zhang,D.,Wang,C.,HE,Y.,Vigne,S.A.,DoesFinTechefficiently

hampermanipulatingESGdatabehavior?,TheBritishAccountingReview,

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TitlePage

Title:DoesFinTechefficientlyhampermanipulatingESGdatabehavior?

Authors:DangyangZhanga,CaoWanga,YurunHE*,bandSamuelA.Vignec

aSchoolofEconomics,CapitalUniversityofEconomicsandBusiness,Beijing100070,PRChina

bBusinessSchool,BeijingTechnologyandBusinessUniversity,Beijing100048,PRChina

cLUISSBusinessSchool,LUISSUniversity,ViaNomentana,216,00162Roma,RM,Italy

Conflictsofinterest:Theauthorsdeclarenoconflictsofinterests.

CRediTauthorshipcontributionstatement:DongyangZhang:Conceptualization,Methodology,Supervision,Software,Resources,Datacuration,Visualization,Writing-originaldraft.CaoWang:Conceptualization,Methodology,Software,Resources,Datacuration,Writing-review&editing.YurunHE:Conceptualization,Methodology,Supervision,Software,Resources,Datacuration,Visualization,Writing–originaldraft.SamuelA.Vigne:Software,Datacuration,Writing-review&editing.

Acknowledgements:DongyangZhangthankstheNationalKeyR&DProgramofChina(No.2023YFA1009204),theNationalNaturalScienceFoundationofChina(No.72103147),andtheProjectofCultivationforYoungTop-motchTalentsofBeijingMunicipalInstitutions(No.BPHR202203184)forfinancialsupport.YurunHethankstheHumanitiesandSocialScienceResearchProjectsofBeijingTechnologyandBusinessUniversity(KYPT202302)forfinancialsupport.

*CorrespondingauthorE-mailaddress:hyrun2011@163.com(Y.He).

DoesFinTechefficientlyhampermanipulatingESGdatabehavior?

Abstract

UnderstandingtheimpactofFinTechonfirms'greenwashingbehaviorisessentialfortheadvancementofgreenfinance.ThispaperutilizesdataonChineselistedfirmsfrom2011to2021toillustratehowFinTechimpactsthefirms'greenwashingbehavior.OurmainfindingisthatFinTechinhibitsfirms'greenwashingbehaviorthroughtwomechanisms:externally,byreducinginformationasymmetryandfinancialconstraints,andinternally,byincreasingtotalfactorproductivity(TFP)andoperationalefficiency.HeterogeneitytestsshowthatFinTechsignificantlyreducesgreenwashingbehaviorsinhigh-techfirms,highlypollutingfirms,firmswithenvironmentallyconsciousexecutives,andfirmslocatedinprovinceswithhighlevelsofFinTechdevelopment,governmentintervention,andlowindustrialization.ThispaperrevealshowFinTechdrivesfirms'ESGperformanceandcurbsinsincereESGbehaviorsandaimstounpackthe"blackbox"ofhowFinTechinfluencesgreenwashingbehaviors.

Keywords:FinTech,Firms'greenwashingbehavior,Informationasymmetry,TFP.

1.Introduction

Financialinnovationhassignificantlytransformedthemarketforfinancialinstrumentsandservices,asectortypicallycharacterizedbystrictlycontrollednewplayers'entryandlimitedefficiencyimprovements(Campanellaetal.,2023).Traditionalfinancialserviceshavenowbeenintegratingwithtechnologyadvancement,andnewfinancialserviceshaveemergedduetotechnologicalinnovation(Liberti&Petersen,2019).

RecentstudieshighlighttheroleofFinTechinalteringthecurrentfinancialmarket,indicatingsignificantgrowthinFinTechinstrumentadoptionfortechnology-driventransactions(Alawietal.,2022;Karimetal.,2022;Naeemetal.,2021).TherobustpresenceofFinTech,drivenbyshiftingdemographicandconsumptiontrends,isevidentinprofessionalandacademicdebates.Thesediscussionsoftenfocusontheriskofdisplacementfacedbytraditionalfinancialinstitutions,suchasbanking,causedbyfailingtoadapttothedata-drivenandnewdigitaladoptionenvironment(Gomber&Siering,2017;Mills&McCarthy,2017).AccordingtothefinancialdevelopmentdrivenbyFinTech,agrowingbodyofliteraturegetsstartedtopaytheirattentiontotheroleofFinTechadoptioninfirmperformance.Financialinstitutionsgenerallymandatefirmstomitigaterisksbyaddingcollateralassetsorincreasingguaranteesbeyondtheoriginalcollateralinthefinancingprocess(Merton&Thakor,2019).Thisrequirementoftenresultsinfirmssufferingfrominsufficientfinancingorbeingcompelledtoover-collateralizetheirassetsduringthefinancingprocess(Huo&Li,2024;Zhangetal.,2021).However,FinTechcantaketheadvantageinleveragingbigdataanalyticsandintelligentalgorithmstoenhancetheinformationmatchingbetweensupplysideanddemandside(Altetal.,2018;Zhu,2023).Thisadvancementdisruptstraditionalfinancialservicemodels,reducingfinancialcostsandexpandingfirms'financingcapacity(Kongetal.,2023).Moreover,FinTechresourcessignificantlystreamlineinformationflowsbetweenfirmsandtheirpartners,includingbothfirmresourceplanningandsupplychainmanagementsystems(Hendricksetal.,2007).Inaddition,firmscanderivesubstantialbenefitsfromtheutilizationofFinTechto

enhanceinventoryefficiency,whichplaysavitalroleinimprovingproductionefficiency(Shah&Shin,2007;Leeetal.,2021).

However,upontheeconomictransformationperiod,firmsmovetowardahigh-qualitydevelopmentstage,whereissuescloselyrelatedtosustainabledevelopmenthavegainedprominence(Renetal.,2022).Theseissuesmainlyfocusonthegoalofcarbonreduction,environmentalprotection,pollutioncontrol,andsustainablegoals,workingthroughtechnologyupgradingandcommonprosperity(Lietal.,2021;Zhang,2023d).Inturn,designedpolicyandfinancialinstrumentdevelopmentareincreasinglypayingattentiontowardsasustainabletargetbyenvironmental,socialandgovernance(ESG)(Drempeticetal.,2020;Zhang,2022a).Regardingtothedeterminatesofimprovingfirm'sESGperformance,existingliteraturepermanentlyagreesthatfinancialconstraintshamperESGperformance,whichmainlyperformsintotwodimensions.ESGrelatedactivitiesrefertothefirm'ssocialresponsibilityandenvironmentalgovernance,whichcostsfirm'scapital,butshortensoffirm'sbenefits.Consequently,firmsfacingfinancialconstraintsmayhampertheirengagementinESG-relatedactivities(Guoetal.,2023;Zhang&Lucey,2022).TheotherdimensiondemonstratesthatESGcanserveasaneffectivesignalforobtainingexternalfinancing,compellinghighlyconstrainedfirmstoparticipateinESGactivities.However,thismayalsoincreasetheirmotivationtoengageingreenwashing,pretendingtobeenvironmentallycompliant(Zhang,2022b,2022c).Inparticular,thepotentialriskofinsincereESGeffortsremainsaconcern.SelectiveESGinformationdisclosures,suchasgreenwashing,canhaveanegativeimpactduetointentionaldistortions(Zhang,2022a,2022b).

Recently,theimpactoffinancialdevelopmentontheenhancementofESGperformancehasbeguntoattractattention.Financialdevelopment,encompassingbothFinTechandgreenfinance,ischaracterizednotonlybydigitalizationbutalsobyasignificanttrendtowardssustainabletransitionthroughESGintegration(Beckeretal.,2022;Zhang,2023a).Therefore,thisstudyaimstoinvestigatewhetherFinTechcanserveasacatalystforsustainablegrowth,therebymitigatingtheriskofinsincereESGpractices.Withinthecontextofhigh-qualityandsustainabledevelopment,China'sflourishingESGpracticesofferavaluabletestenvironment,enrichedwithcomprehensivefirm-leveldata.

InevaluatingtheimpactofFinTechdevelopmentonfirms'greenwashingbehaviors,weconstructapaneldataofChineselistedfirmduring2011-2021.Themainfindingsinthispaperareasfollowings:Primarily,FinTechhasasignificantlynegativeimpactonfirms'greenwashingbehaviors.DrawingonZhang(2022a),weassessedthefirm'sgreenwashingbehaviorbycomparingthedisclosedESGscoreswiththeactualESGperformancescores.OurresultsindicatethatFinTechhasasubstantialpositiveimpactonthefirm'sactualESGperformanceandservestomitigategreenwashingbehavior.Theconsistentconclusionsfromourrobustnesstestsalignwiththeresultsofthebenchmarkregression,indicatingthattheadvancementofFinTechhampersfirms'greenwashingbehavior.Furthermore,weinvestigatedthemechanismthroughwhichFinTechmitigatesgreenwashingbehavior,theresultsshowthatFinTechimpedesfirms'greenwashingbehaviorbyaddressinginformationasymmetryandfinancialconstraintsfromexternalsources,aswellasimprovingfirms'totalfactorproductivity(TFP)andoperatingefficiencyinternally.Finally,focusingonspecifictypesofsamples,thefirm-levelheterogeneityanalysisfindsthatFinTechhasasignificantnegativeeffectonthegreenwashingbehaviorsoffirmsinhigh-techandhigh-pollutingindustries,aswellasonfirmswhoseexecutivestendtohaveastrongersenseofenvironmentalprotection.Additionally,attheprovinciallevel,theanalysisrevealsthatFinTechsignificantly

decreasesthegreenwashingbehaviorsoffirmsinprovinceswithhighFinTechdevelopment,highgovernmentintervention,andlowindustrialization.

Buildingonadiscussionoftheexistingliteraturefollowingourempiricalfindings,thispaperseekstoadvancerelatedresearchinthefollowingthreeareas.Firstly,thispapersupplementsthemainstreamliteratureontheimpactoffinancialdevelopmentonhigh-qualityandsustainableeconomicgrowth(Komal&Abbas,2015;Levine,1997;Liang&Zhou,2006).ItrevealshowFinTechdrivesthefirm'sESGperformanceandcurbsinsincereESGbehaviors.Thisstudyhighlightstheroleoffinancialinnovationandimprovedfinancialefficiencyinpromotingactualsustainabledevelopmentoutcomes.Secondly,ourfindingscontributetotheburgeoningresearchfieldontherealimpactofFinTech.Muchoftheexistingresearchhasfocusedonfirmfinancialdecisions,financialsystemstabilityandinclusion,andthechallengesbroughtbyfinancialinstitutions(Chavaetal.,2021;DiMaggio&Yao,2021;Zhangetal.,2020).Incontrast,ourstudyadvancesthefieldbyexaminingtheroleofFinTechincurbingfirm'sinsincereESGbehaviors.Thirdly,thispaperaimstounpackthe"blackbox"ofhowFinTechinfluencesgreenwashingbehaviorsbyrevealingtwoplausibleunderlyingmechanisms:thereductionofinformationasymmetryandtheloweringofoperatingcosts(Mohammedetal.,2024;Yin&Yang,2024).ToimproverealESGperformance,theroleofFinTechencompassesimprovementsinfinancingefficiency,reductionofinformationasymmetry,andtechnologyspilloverstofirms.SuchpotentialeconomicmechanismsillustratehowFinTechcanbenefittherealeconomy.WebelieveourfindingshavebroadimplicationsandcaninformpolicymakersaboutthetruevalueofFinTech.

Theremainderofthispaperisstructuredasfollows.Section2reviewstherelatedliteratureonFinTechandfirm'sgreenwashingbehaviorandproposeshypotheses.Section3describesourmicro-andmacro-leveldata,variableselection,andmodelspecifications.Section4presentsourempiricalfindings,includingthefundamentalresults,explorationsofpotentialmechanisms,firm'sheterogeneityanalysis,androbustnesschecks.Finally,Section5concludesthevitalfindingsofthisstudy.

2.Literaturereviewandhypothesisdevelopment

2.1FinTechingreenfinance

Astheongoingtechnologicalrevolutioncontinuestodeepen,theuseofFinTechhasbecomecrucialtothesustainabledevelopmentofeconomicandfinancialsectors.Beyonditspotentialtoreshapetraditionalfinancialmarketsandstabilizeriskimpacts(Maryam&Veldkamp,2024),FinTechhashadaprofoundimpactonthefinancialservicesindustry(Kelvin&Sung,2018;Sanjiv,2019;Saharetal.,2024).FinTech,throughadvancedtechnologieslikebigdata,artificialintelligence,andblockchain,offersextensiveandefficientapplicationscenariosforgreenfinance(Zavolokinaetal.,2016),creatingcountlessopportunitiesfornewservicesandbusinessmodels(Iman,2020).Itenhancestheidentificationandtradingefficiencyofenvironmentallyfriendlyassets,fostersthedevelopmentofinnovativegreenfinancialproducts,streamlinesrisk-assessmentandmanagementprocesses,andfortifiesregulatoryandrisk-controlcapabilities.

Inthepracticeofgreenfinance,theemergenceofFinTechhasbeeninfluencedbymultiplefactors,includingeconomicprosperity,theaccessibilityofventurecapital,improvementstointernetinfrastructure,andthedemandforloans(Haddad&Lars,2019;Wuetal.,2024).FinTechstartupsdrivethesustainabledevelopmentofgreenfinancethroughtheconstructionofinnovative

technologies—mostnotablyESGevaluationsystemsthatprovidelocalizedandefficientsolutionstomeettheinvestmentneedsoftheChinesecapitalmarket.Inadditiontoacceleratingthedevelopmentofgreenfinance,theseapplicationspromoteinclusiveandsustainablesocialdevelopment.FinTechinnovationhaseffectedsignificantchangeandtransformationinseveralkeyareasofthefinancialservicesindustry,includingoperationalmanagement,technologicalinnovation,andinvestmentriskmanagement(Gomberetal.,2018;Xuetal.,2023).

ThegrowthareasofFinTechandgreenfinanceapplicationsexhibithigherR&Dintensityandinvestmentvolatilityinmoredevelopedfinancialmarkets(Anna&Samaniego,2011),highlightinghowefficientlyoperatingfinancialmarketscanpreciselydirectresourcestoinnovation-drivengreengrowthindustries.Moreover,althoughmaturity-mismatchedinvestmentsmayinhibitfirms'digitalorientation,FinTecheffectivelyalleviatesthisnegativeimpactbymitigatingfinancialconstraints(Xuetal.,2024).Morespecifically,amongfirmswithsevereagencyproblems,maturity-mismatchedinvestmentsmayhinderdigitalorientationbyweakeningmanagers'riskattitudes,buttheroleofFinTechissignificantinsuchfirmsbecauseithelpstobalanceandmitigatethesenegativeimpacts(Sunetal.,2024).

2.2TheimpactofFinTechonfirmgreenwashing

GreenwashingmeansthattheESGperformancethatfirmsdisguiseforthemselvesisbetterthantheiractualESGperformance(Zhang,2022a,2022d).PriorstudiesshowthatthereisapositivecorrelationbetweenthedisclosureofESGreportsandtheamountofcapitalraised,reflectinginvestors'preferenceforfirmswithsuperiorESGperformance(Anastasiaetal.,2024).Therefore,non-cleanfirmscanalleviatetheirfinancialconstraintsbyengagingingreenwashing.

TherapiddevelopmentofFinTechhassharpenedthefocusonthefirm'sESGperformanceandplaysacrucialroleinaddressingthegreenwashingbehaviors.TheapplicationsofFinTechnotonlypromotethehealthydevelopmentofgreenfinancebutalsoprovidemorereliableinformationforinvestorsandconsumers.Primarily,FinTechhasenhancedthetransparencyoffirm'sinformation,makingitdifficultforfalseormisleadinginformationtogoundetected(Wangetal.,2024).Throughtheuseofadvancedtechnologies,FinTechhassignificantlybolstereditsabilitytoidentifygreenprojects,effectivelydistinguishingbetweengenuinelygreenfirmsandthosemerelyengagedingreenwashing(Zhang,2023b).Inparticular,theapplicationofFinTechensurestheauthenticityandintegrityofESGdata,preventingfirmsfromeasilyalteringorfalsifyingdataand,inturn,greatlyreducingtheriskofgreenwashing(Giakoumelou,2024;Zavolokinaetal.,2016).

Besides,FinTechhassignificantlyalleviatedthefirm'sfinancialconstraints,particularlythosewithlowerESGperformance,whereitsimpactisevenmorepronounced(Guoetal.,2023).BecauseFinTechhasdecreasedthecostandcomplexityofgreencertification,enablingmoregenuinelyworthygreenprojectsandenterprisestoobtaincertificationwithease,therebyfurthermitigatingthepotentialforgreenwashing(Wu&Huang,2022).Furthermore,FinTechhasoptimizedidentificationproceduresforcleancapital,therebyalleviatingfinancialconstraintsandgreenwashingmotivationassociatedwitheco-friendlyinitiatives(Zhang,2022a,2023b).

Ultimately,FinTechhascultivatedinvestorpreferencestowardssustainableassetsandconcurrentlyempoweredthemwithsophisticatedtoolstogaugeandmitigateESG-relatedportfoliorisks(Firdousietal.,2023;Muganyietal.,2021).ItfacilitatescomprehensiveunderstandingamonginvestorsofhowESGfactorsinfluenceafirm'slong-termvaluationprospects,resultinginincreasedcapitalallocationtowardsenvironmentallyconsciouspursuits(Zhou,2022).Therefore,wepropose

thefollowinghypothesis:

H1:FinTechmitigatesgreenwashingbehavioramongfirms.

2.3FinTechandtheexternalfinancingoffirms

TheapplicationofFinTechhashadaprofoundimpactonbothfinancialintermediariesandfirms(Sunetal.,2024).Byleveragingadvancedtechnologies,FinTechhassignificantlyenhancedthetransparencyandefficiencyoffinancialtransactions,therebymitigatinginformationasymmetrywithinfirms(Afshanetal.,2024;Broby,2021;Das,2019)andoptimizingfinancialperformance(Bharath.,2009;Saurabhetal.,2013;Yuanetal.,2021).

FinTechhaseffectivelyreducedfirms'riskofbankruptcybyenhancinginformationtransparencyandreducingfinancialleverage(Yuetal.,2022).Throughreal-timedatacollection,processing,andanalysis,FinTechaidinginvestorsandfinancialinstitutionsinaccuratelyunderstandingfirms'financingneeds(Wangetal.,2024).ExistingliteraturefindsthatFinTechpositivelyimpactsthefinancialperformanceofnewenergyfirmswithinnovativeandhigh-riskcharacteristics(Wu&Huang,2022),encouraginggreeninnovationandreducingthefirm'sgreenwashingbehaviors.

Therefore,FinTechhasnotonlyeasedfirms'externalfinancialconstraints,promotingsustainabledevelopment,butithasalsoprovidedmorereliableinformationsafeguardsforinvestorsandconsumers.Theadvancementofgreenfinancehasplayedaroleinreducinggreenwashingbyenablingeco-friendlyinnovation,enhancingprofitability,andalleviatingfinancialconstraints,thuseffectivelypromotingESGperformance(Zhang,2023b).Accordingtotheanalysis,weproposethefollowinghypothesis:

H2:FinTechalleviatestheriskofinformationasymmetryandfinancialconstraints,inturn,hampersthegreenwashingbehavioroffirms.

2.4FinTechandtheinternalfinancingoffirms

Beyondsignificantlyenhancingthequalityofinternalcontrols,FinTechhashadprofoundeffectsonfirm'sgovernancemechanismsbypromotinginternalfinancialperformanceandTFP(Chengetal.,2024).Inparticular,thedevelopmentofFinTechhasfosteredsignificantfirm'sinnovationandenhancedTFPbyalleviatingthefinancialconstraints(Xiao&Yu,2023),andthefirm'sinvestmentintechnologyhaspositivelyimpactedtheoperationalperformanceandmarkedlydecreasedfinancingcosts,especiallywhenitcomestodebtcosts(Kim&Mithas,2017;Zengetal.,2022).

FinTechhaseffectivelycurbedoperatingcostsandloweredinvestmentandmaintenancecoststhroughtheintroductionofautomationanddigitizationtechnologieswhileatthesametimeoptimizingoperationalstrategies(Najafetal.,2024).Thesetechnologicaladvancementshaveboostedprofitability,asfirmshaveutilizedinformationtechnologytoimproveknowledge-managementpractices,resultinginincreasedprofitability(Suniletal.,2012;Susana&Alegre,2012).Furthermore,FinTechhasimprovedTFPbyprovidingservicessuchasdigitalcreditassessmentandintelligentriskmanagement,leadingtoareductioninfirm'sfinancingcostsandimprovedthefinancingefficiency,consequentlydrivingcapitalinvestmentandmarginaloutput(Dong&Yu,2023).Theimprovementofinternalcontrolefficiencyreducesthefirm'sgreenwashingmotivationandmakestheactualESGperformancebetter.Therefore,weproposethefollowinghypothesis:

H3:FinTechimprovesfirms'TFPandhamperstheiroperatingcosts,therebymitigatinggreenwashingbehavioramongfirms.

Tovisualizethecoreconcepts,wehavedrawnaschematicdiagramoftheimpactofFinTechonfirms'greenwashinginFigure1,fromwhichitcanbeseenthatFinTechaffectsthefirms'greenwashingbyaffectingtheirinternalandexternalfactors.

Figure1TherelationschemaofFinTechandGreenwashing

3.Researchdesign

3.1Empiricalmodel

TotesttheimpactofFinTechonfirms'greenwashingbehaviors,weestablishtheempiricalmodelEq.(1):

Greenwas?it=α0+α1FinTec?pt+α2Firmcontrolsit+α3provincecontrolspt+

vi+μt+εit(1)

WhereGreenwas?itdenotesthegreenwashingbehaviorsexhibitedbyfirmiattimet,indicatingadisparitybetweenthedisclosedESGscoresandactualESGperformancescores.FinTec?ptrepresentstheextentofFinTechdevelopmentinprovincepattimet,indicatingtheadvancementoffinancetechnologywithintheregion.IftheFinTechreducesthegreenwashing,thenthecoefficientα1shouldbesignificantlynegative.Firmcontrolsitrepresentthefirm-levelcontrolvariables,andprovincecontrolsptrepresenttheprovince-levelcontrolvariables.Furthermore,virepresentthefirm-levelfixedeffectsandμtrepresenttheyearfixedeffectsinthemodel,andεitrepresentstheresidualterm.

TofartherinvestigatetheinfluenceofFinTechonfirms'greenwashingbehaviors,wehavedevelopedthefollowingempiricalmodelEq.(2):

Greenwas?it=β0+β1FinTec?pt?Mit+β2FinTec?pt+β3Mit+β4Firmcontrolsit+β5provincecontrolspt+vi+μt+εit(2)

WhereMitreferstothemechanismvariable,includingfirminformationasymmetry,financialconstraints,TFP,andfirms'operatingcosts.Thecoefficientβ1reflectstheeffectofthemechanismvariable;β1andβ2beinginthesamedirectionindicatesthatthemechanismvariableplaysaroleintheinfluenceofFinTechonfirms'greenwashingbehaviors.

3.2Themainvariablesdefinition

DrawingonZhang(2022a,2022c,2023b,2024),wedefinethegreenwashingscoreasthegapbetweenanormalizedmeasureofafirm'spositionrelativetoitspeersinthedistributionofESG

disclosurescoresandanormalizedmeasureofafirm'spositionrelativetoitspeersinthedistributionofESGrealperformancescores(seeEq.(3)).Thegreenwashingscoremeasuresthedegreeoffirm'sgreenwashingbehavior,anditslargervalueimpliesthatthefirmexhibitslowefficiencyinitssustainableperformance,anditssmallervalueimpliesthatthefirm'sgreenwashingbehaviorismitigated.ESGDisclosureitismeasuredbyBloombergESG,whichiscalculatedusingtheESGinformationdisclosedbythefirmsthemselves,whileESGRatingisobjectivelymeasuredbyHuaZhengESG,whichiscalculatedusingthepubliclyavailabledataforESGinformation.

TheFinTechindexcomprehensivelyconsidersthebreadthanddepthofregionalfinancialtechnologyanddigitization(Guoetal.,2023),takingintoaccountcomparabilityintermsofbothgeographicandtemporaldimensions.Itisamultidimensionalconceptthatencompassesvariousfactorsthatimpacttheavailabilityandaccessibilityoffinancialproductsandservices(Xuetal.,2024;Zhu,2023),andahighervalueoftheFinTechindexindicatesahigherleveloffinancialtechnologydevelopmentoftheregion(Jietal.,2022).ThedefinitionandmeasurementofothervariablescanbeobtainedfromAppendixⅠ.

3.3Datasourcesanddescriptivestatistics

TheESGdatausedinthispapertocalculategreenwashingscorescomefromtheBloombergESGdatabaseandtheWinddatabase,respectively.Thedataonprovince'sFinTechindexarefromPekingUniversity'sDigitalFinanceResearchCenter1withahighdegreeofrepresentativenessandauthority(Xuetal.,2024),sincethisindexstartsin2011,theearliestourFinTechvariablegoesbacktois2011(Guoetal.,2023).Thesourceforalloftheotherfirm-leveldataistheCSMARdatabase,andtheprovince-leveldataarefromtheNationalBureauofStatisticsofChina.Basedontheavailabilityofdata,ourempiricalanalysisencompassestheperiodfrom2011to2021(Zhu,2023).

Table1presentsthedescriptivestatistics,Greenwas?hasaminimumvalueof-2.278,amaximumvalueof3.273,andameanvalueof-0.004,withhighervaluesrepresentingmorefirm'sgreenwashingbehaviors.StandardizedFinTec?takesvaluesbetween0and1,withameanvalueof0.575andhighervaluesindicatingahighlevelofFinTechdevelopment.Asforthecontrols,weemployfirm-levelandprovince-levelcontrolvariables.Theformerincludefirmage,firmsize,firmleverage,ROA,andlaborcost.Thelatterincludeprovince'sopenness,industrialstructure,andfiscalexpenditureshare(Dong&Yu,2023;Harakehetal.,2023;Wangetal.,2023).Inordertonarrowthesubstantialgapbetweenvariablesandfacilitatedatamanipulationandanalysis,weappliedloga