Financing Structure Mismatch and Corporate Sustainable Development Performance: Evidence from Chinese Listed Manufacturing Firms

Corporate sustainable development performance is essential for firms’ long-term survival and growth and carries important social and environmental implications. Based on a sample of Chinese A-share manufacturing firms from 2009 to 2023, this study develops a comprehensive indicator of financing structure mismatch that integrates financing maturity and financing source dimensions using the entropy weight method. Empirical results reveal that financing structure mismatch significantly undermines corporate sustainable development performance. Further analyses indicate that this adverse effect operates through firms’ innovation capability and market share. In addition, the mitigating roles of equity refinancing and regional financial development are confirmed, as both factors weaken the negative relationship between financing structure mismatch and sustainable development performance. Heterogeneity tests show that the detrimental impact of financing structure mismatch is more pronounced among large firms, firms with higher information asymmetry, and firms facing greater financial risk. Overall, the findings provide new empirical evidence on the role of financing structure mismatch in shaping corporate sustainable development and offer valuable implications for improving firms’ financing arrangements and sustainable performance.