ESG is highly compatible with the concept of sustainability in China, and there is no clear conclusion on the impact of ESG performance on the dual innovation of enterprises. Taking Shanghai-Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2022 as the research sample, the impact of ESG performance on enterprise exploratory innovation and utilization innovation was deeply studied, how ESG performance promotes the improvement of enterprise dual innovation ability was analyzed, and the impact effect of enterprise ESG performance on enterprise dual innovation was empirically examined. The research finds that ESG performance has a significant promotion effect on the promotion of the enterprise dual innovation ability, and the better the ESG performance, the stronger the promotion effect on the enterprise innovation of utilization. The mechanism analysis shows that the good ESG performance improves the dual innovation ability by alleviating financing constraints, and the risk taking level has a significant positive impact on the improvement of the utilization innovation ability. The heterogeneous analysis shows that the promotion effect of ESG performance on the dual innovation is more significant in non-state-owned enterprises and listed companies located in central China. Digital transformation plays a positive regulatory role in the influence of ESG performance on the dual innovation.

ESG performance  /  enterprise dual innovation  /  financing constraints  /  risk taking level  /  digital transformation