Abstract:    The ESG concept, as a key to the sustainable development of enterprises, has garnered significant attention. Drawing from the social identity theory and based on the panel data of A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, this study employed a fixed-effects model to analyze how the identity of standard setters influences corporate ESG performance within the Chinese context. The findings indicated that national standard setting has a positive impact on corporate ESG performance, with the most pronounced effect on the environmental (E) dimension, a conclusion that holds after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting robustness tests. In terms of the mechanisms, external pressure, internal control quality and corporate ethical culture are identified as three pathways through which standard-setting companies enhance their ESG standards. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that, (1) externally, companies in regions with strong environmental regulations and industries with intense market competition benefit more from standard setting in terms of ESG improvement; (2) internally, the positive effect of standard setting is more evident in non-state-owned enterprises, those with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and companies in the maturity stage; and (3) additionally, standard setting has an industry spillover effect on corporate ESG practices but has not yet generated regional spillover effects. This paper will enrich the research on the social benefits of standard setting and the drivers of corporate ESG performance, thus offering insights into how to actively leverage the leading role of standards to unleash the momentum for corporate sustainable development.

Key words: standard setter, ESG performance, social identity theory, sustainable development