Ethical approvalThis study is based entirely on publicly available secondary data from Chinese listed firms, comprising firm-level financial, corporate governance, and environmental disclosure information drawn from established commercial databases and publicly disclosed corporate annual reports.
The research involved no primary data collection from human participants, no clinical or behavioral interventions, and no vulnerable populations.
2026-15) by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology.
The analysis relies exclusively on publicly available firm-level secondary data from Chinese listed firms, and no personal data, customer records, employee information, or individual-level identifiers were collected or processed.
Accordingly, informed consent from individual participants was not applicable, as confirmed by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical approval
This study is based entirely on publicly available secondary data from Chinese listed firms, comprising firm-level financial, corporate governance, and environmental disclosure information drawn from established commercial databases and publicly disclosed corporate annual reports. The research involved no primary data collection from human participants, no clinical or behavioral interventions, and no vulnerable populations. To meet international publication standards and to comply with institutional requirements for research in the humanities and social sciences, the study protocol was submitted to the Institutional Review Board of the School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology. Formal ethical approval was granted on 22 April 2026 (Approval No. 2026-15) by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology. All research activities adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant institutional and national guidelines.
Informed consent
This study did not involve any interaction or intervention with human participants, nor the collection, use, or analysis of identifiable or non-identifiable personal human data. The analysis relies exclusively on publicly available firm-level secondary data from Chinese listed firms, and no personal data, customer records, employee information, or individual-level identifiers were collected or processed. Accordingly, informed consent from individual participants was not applicable, as confirmed by the Institutional Review Board of the School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology.
