# ESG performance, financing constraints, and workplace health investment: evidence from Chinese biopharmaceutical enterprises

## TL;DR

This study finds that better ESG performance in Chinese biopharmaceutical companies leads to more investment in workplace health, especially when financing constraints are reduced.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a novel mediating mechanism linking ESG performance to workplace health investment through financing constraints.

## Key findings

- ESG performance significantly increases workplace health investment, with financing constraints mediating 20.8% of the effect.
- The Social dimension of ESG has the strongest association with health investment.
- Health expenditure reduces R&D personnel turnover and boosts innovation output in biopharmaceutical firms.

## Abstract

Workplace health promotion (WHP) is critical for occupational health management, yet empirical evidence on determinants of corporate health investment remains limited. This study examines whether ESG performance promotes workplace health investment in Chinese biopharmaceutical enterprises and investigates the mediating role of financing constraints.

Using panel data from 55 A-share listed biopharmaceutical companies (2015–2023, 495 firm-year observations), we employed fixed effects models with manually collected health expenditure data. The three-step method tested financing constraints as a mediator. Heterogeneity analyses and multiple endogeneity treatments were conducted.

ESG performance significantly promotes workplace health investment (β = 0.0024, p > 0.01), with financing constraints mediating 20.8% of the total effect. The Social dimension shows the strongest association. Effects are stronger in non-state-owned enterprises, high R&D intensity firms, and vaccine/blood products companies. Health expenditure reduces R&D personnel turnover and enhances innovation output.

ESG performance effectively promotes workplace health investment by alleviating financing constraints, providing empirical support for integrating occupational health promotion into corporate sustainability strategies. Theoretically, this study bridges corporate finance and occupational health research by revealing the transmission mechanism of “ESG → financing constraint alleviation → workplace health expenditure.” Practically, the findings suggest that ESG improvement can serve as a market-based lever for promoting organizational investment in employee health programs.