Institutional investor attention, supply chain ESG collaboration, and corporate sustainable performance

Utilizing firm-level panel data from Chinese publicly traded companies spanning the period 2013 to 2024, this research examines the interconnections among institutional investor attention, supply chain ESG collaboration, and corporate sustainable performance(SusPerf). The empirical analysis yields several key conclusions. Initially, institutional investor attention is significantly and positively correlated with SusPerf. Furthermore, the positive impact of institutional investor attention on SusPerf exhibits heterogeneity across firms with varying levels of market competition. Specifically, firm size has a significant threshold effect on the relationship between institutional investor attention and SusPerf. When a firm's size crosses a specific threshold, the magnitude of the impact of institutional investor attention on SusPerf changes significantly. Finally, supply chain ESG collaboration plays a mediating role in the relationship between institutional investor attention and SusPerf, and this mediating effect differs significantly among firms with different levels of corporate governance. This research provides new empirical evidence and theoretical insights into how institutional investors promote corporate sustainable development through supply chain collaboration.