Liang Wang, Minzhi Chen
In the context of the global energy transition and green, low-carbon development, the new energy industry has emerged as a vital force driving sustainable development, with government subsidies widely employed as a key policy tool. However, existing research primarily focuses on the direct impact of subsidies on companies’ performance, with limited in-depth exploration of the underlying mechanisms through which they influence corporate ESG performance via the maturity mismatch of investment and financing. Therefore, this paper utilizes data from listed new energy companies spanning the period 2014 to 2023 to examine the relationship among government subsidies, maturity mismatch of investment and financing, and ESG performance in new energy companies. The conclusion derived from the results is as follows. (i)Government subsidies significantly enhance the ESG performance of new energy companies. (ii)Government subsidies enhance ESG performance by exacerbating the maturity mismatch of investment and financing in these companies. (iii) Government subsidies intensify financing constraints, thereby inducing maturity mismatch of investment and financing. (iv) Management equity incentives amplify the impact of the maturity mismatch of investment and financing on corporate ESG performance. (v) Cash flow positively moderates the direct effect of government subsidies on ESG performance but negatively moderates their mediating effect on the maturity mismatch of investment and financing.