How to Improve the Environmental, Social and Governance Performance of Chinese Construction Enterprises Based on the Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis Method

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

pls see attached

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

1.Why do we care? What conditions are under companies’ control and what are subjective to regulatory and legal environment? Is ESG really necessary for all firms? What are the costs and benefits? You should study or at least discuss these aspects; otherwise readers don’t know how to use the findings of the paper.

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s suggestions. We have explained the importance and necessity of ESG in the introduction. It is on line 30-32 of page1 and line 38-44 of page1. As shown below:

As construction enterprises are under pressure to develop sustainability in the cur-rent competitive construction market [1]. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) is becoming an important system to evaluate the sustainable development of enterprises [2].

The ESG implementation involves a lot of investment. However, in the long run, ESG performance is beneficial both in terms of shareholder value and external stakeholder benefits [6]. Moreover，even if an enterprise is not volunteering, when a construction enterprise encounters a client with stringent building codes or standards, it must comply with local ESG requirements [7]. Therefore, the importance and necessity of ESG no longer makes enterprises only focus on profit maximization, but gradually focus on social benefit maximization [8].

We also have discussed the conditions under which construction enterprises can be controlled or regulated in Section 2. Literature Review. For example，It is on line 90-92 of page2, 114-116 of page3, 123-125 of page4 and 135-138 of page4. As shown below:

With the strict government regulations and the increase of social attention, more and more construction enterprises have begun to focus on the importance of environmental sustainability. In addition to employees and partners, construction enterprises are also subject to the attention of the public, which is another external scrutiny that should not be ignored.

Many international organizations or countries have made regulations on occupational safety in construction enterprises.

First, a larger board provides more knowledge on sustainability, as well as control the quality of decisions on ESG strategies [31,32]. The supervision and management of the enterprise is also much greater efficiency.

2.The paper seems to assume ESG is always good. If this is true, all firms should invest all their resources in ESG, which clearly is nonsense. In particular, the recent literature on Chinese listed firms show that ESG or CSR can be misused to cover up fraud in the framework of agency problem; see Li et al. 2024. Corporate Social Responsibility and Goodwill Impairment: Charitable Donations of Chinese Listed Companies. You can discuss this aspect when you study corporate governance conditions (the bottom circle in the graph)

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s suggestions. We discussed whether ESG is always good in introduction section (it is on line53-57 of page 2), and the 2.3 Analysis of conditions at the governance dimension (it is on line 131-136 of page 3). As shown below:

In addition, due to poor corporate governance, the behavior that appears to increase ESG is likely to be abused by enterprises [12]. Construction enterprises also have limited resources available for ESG.

Construction enterprises have achieved some success in ESG performance. However, there are still enterprises that see ESG as a measure to wrap fraud, greenwashing and other behaviors [12]. Therefore, good corporate governance is needed to monitor and reduce such irresponsible behavior. ESG performance is a result of corporate strategy, which depends on largely corporate board size [30]. First, a larger board provides more knowledge on sustainability, as well as control the quality of decisions on ESG strategies [31,32]. The supervision and management of the enterprise is also much greater efficiency.

3.You treat all firms the same for their ESG strategies, which is problematic. Firms of different sizes, ownership structure (state vs. private), locations etc. can have very different conditions and corresponding strategies. If possible, you can dig deeper to study some moderating effects. If not, you should at least discuss these aspects to give readers a more comprehensive view and a richer story and/or point out future research direction from these perspectives

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s comments. We mainly discussed strategies of improving ESG performance in discuss section. It is on line 296-300 of page 8 and line 364-374 of page 9. As shown below:

Agency theory suggests that corporations can make commitments to the environment thereby reducing the gap between ownership and control [55]. For example, when enterprise incentives are rewarded for environmentally beneficial governance, the managers are more likely to develop ESG performance in operations and strategies

Increasing R&D investment by enterprises can provide more resources for green R&D activities. More innovation in technology can help enterprises overcome more quality difficulties in construction activities and increase ESG performance [67]. Not only that, techno-logical innovation enhances the core competitiveness of enterprises and enables them to obtain more development opportunities [68]. Accordingly, enterprise can have more resources to develop ESG performance. Therefore, although enterprises of different sizes and ownerships pay different attention to and devote different resources to ESG. In order to reduce the negative impact of construction activities on the outside world, enterprises should recognize the positive impact of R&D investment on ESG performance rather than focusing on short-term benefits.

4.There are many typos and grammatical mistakes throughout the paper, making it hard to read and understand. Try to avoid long sentences and vague words. Use short, precise, and concise sentences and be more straightforward. The last section of the conclusion should summarize all your findings, their implications to researchers and practitioners, future direction for research, limitations of the current study, etc. You need to seriously proofread the paper and extend and update your references

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s comment. I am very sorry that you have raised such a question, due to our lack of rigor in the writing process. We try to make the sentences short and clear so that the reviewers can read the article. We have revised the English language of the full text, and invited colleagues who are proficient in English writing to revise it.

We summarize the findings, the implications of the study, and the limitations and future research in the conclusion section. It is on line 386-420 of page 10 and line421-444 of page 11.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

The article addresses an important topic in the Chinese context and beyond. Stress however the country  context more, e.g. in the title. The literature is properly adressed. The research method is fine, as are the data in principle, but be more clear on their asssembly.  Is it e.g. true that when the word training is mentioned in the annual report you code a 1 and else a 0 for the related variable? Please give government policy recommendations. The international relevance of the study can be made more explicit at the end. 

There are multiple flaws. For example, the sentence in line 11/12 is incomplete. Also, there is an isssue with the brackets and more in line 53/54. Sometimes, white space is missing. Line 65/66 is unclear, cf. the use of the words framework and development.

Author Response

1.The article addresses an important topic in the Chinese context and beyond. Stress however the country context more, e.g. in the title. The literature is properly adressed.

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s comments. We have made a change to the title as below：

How to improve ESG performance of Chinese construction enterprises: based on the fsQCA method.

2.The research method is fine, as are the data in principle, but be more clear on their asssembly. Is it e.g. true that when the word training is mentioned in the annual report you code a 1 and else a 0 for the related variable?

Authors’ Responses：

Thanks for the reviewer’s suggestion. We have modified the variable measurement in 3.3 Variable Measurement section to clarify the rules. It is on line 197-225 of page 5. As shown below:

For example, when the word “environmental training” is mentioned in the annual report, we code a 1 for the related variable.

3.Please give government policy recommendations. The international relevance of the study can be made more explicit at the end.

Authors’ Responses：

Many thanks for the reviewer’s suggestions. We have added government policy recommendations in the practical implication section. It is on line 435-438 of page11. As shown below:

Finally, the government can set up more funds to encourage enterprises to continuously improve ESG performance. The government should also establish a rigorous over-sight agency to review the ESG ratings with relevant authorities to ensure authority and reduce fraud and greenwashing.

4.There are multiple flaws. For example, the sentence in line 11/12 is incomplete. Also, there is an isssue with the brackets and more in line 53/54. Sometimes, white space is missing. Line 65/66 is unclear, cf. the use of the words framework and development.

Authors’ Responses：Many thanks for the reviewer’s comment. I am very sorry that you have raised such a question, due to our lack of rigor in the writing process. We have revised the English language of the full text, and invited colleagues who are proficient in English writing to revise it. The incomplete sentences and irregular words you raised have been revised. It is on line 11-13 of page1, line48-51 of page2 and line 66-67 of page2.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

This is a clear, concise, and well-written manuscript. Sufficient information about the previous study findings is presented for readers to follow the present study rationale and procedures.  However, certain areas require further enhancement.                                   

 1. State the object of the study in the abstract;

2. References and citation format need to be revised;

3. The introduction should emphasize the research purpose and contribution of the article;

4. The research review of the article needs to be centered on the research topic;

5. The figure of the article is not clear and needs to be revised

 English language fine. No issues detected

Author Response

This is a clear, concise, and well-written manuscript. Sufficient information about the previous study findings is presented for readers to follow the present study rationale and procedures.  However, certain areas require further enhancement. 

Authors’ Responses：Many thanks for the reviewer’s suggestions. We have revised this manuscript according to your comments.

1. State the object of the study in the abstract                                        Authors’ Responses:

   Many thanks for the reviewer’s suggestions. We have emphasized the objective of the study in the abstract. It is on line 11-14 of page1. As shown below:

   Therefore, in order to better utilize resources effectively improve enterprise ESG performance, this paper explores the configuration paths for Chinese construction enterprises to improve their ESG performance using the fsQCA method.
2.  References and citation format need to be revised                                          Authors’ Responses:Thanks for the reviewer’s suggestion. We have modified the format of the full text's references and citations to meet the requirements of the journal. We also rank the references in the order in which they appear in the article.  
3. The introduction should emphasize the research purpose and contribution of the article                                                                                            Authors’ Responses:

   Many thanks for the reviewer’s comment. I am very sorry that you have raised such a question, due to our lack of rigor in the writing process. We have added research purpose and contribution in introduction section. It is on line 66-73 of page 2 As shown below:

   As a result, the objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to analyze the factors that affect ESG performance at the environmental, social and corporate governance dimension; (2) to discuss the impact of configuration paths in different dimensions on the ESG performance; and (3) to determine the core conditions for improving the ESG performance of Chinese construction enterprises. The results are expected to help construction enterprises to deploying more effective ESG development strategies with limited resources practically. This paper also provides a reference for the government to manage ESG performance of enterprises.

4.The research review of the article needs to be centered on the research topic                                                                                             

Authors’ Responses:

Many thanks for the reviewer’s revision suggestion. We have revised research review in introduction section. It is on line59-65 of page 2 As shown below:

Most of the current academic research on ESG have focused on:（1）exploring the relationship between enterprise ESG performance and financial performance[13,14];（2）analyzing the impact of ESG funds on enterprise ESG performance [15];（3）or examining the relationship between ESG performance, corporate innovation and high-quality development[2,16]. Few studies have explored how enterprises can jointly improve the ESG performance of construction enterprises under multiple conditions from environmental, social and corporate governance dimension.

5.The figure of the article is not clear and needs to be revised

Authors’ Responses:Many thanks for the reviewer’s revision suggestion. We apologize for not making the figures clearly and making them difficult to be readable. We have redrawn all the figures containing "Figure. 1. Research steps, methods, and outcomes" ，and displayed it in the article. It is on line 150 of page 4.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Well improved.

ok