Abstract

Family firms represent one of the oldest organizational forms. They constitute a backbone of private economies and capital markets both globally and in China. Under the joint influence of the “family” and the “firm”, they pursue not only economic goals but also non-economic objectives. Heterogeneity arises from kinship structures, member characteristics, and family succession stages. The spousal relationship occupies a central role. It connects marital, blood, and inter-generational ties. The introduction of female traits and the uniqueness of spousal relations shape their impact mechanisms. Couples’ Joint Holdings reflect this relationship in ownership structure. ESG, evolving from CSR, captures firms’ need to balance environmental, social, and governance objectives. Driven by long-term orientation, inter-generational succession, reputation management, the transmission of family values, and the pursuit of legitimacy, family firms have strong incentives to enhance ESG performance. As a form of family control characterized by multiple sources of heterogeneity, Couples’ Joint Holdings may have distinct effects on corporate ESG performance, making this issue particularly theoretically and practically significant. Using Chinese A-share listed family firms from 2014 to 2024, this study employs panel regressions with industry and year fixed effects. The results show that Couples’ Joint Holdings significantly enhance ESG performance. This finding remains robust across alternative measures, sub-sample tests, and multiple endogeneity approaches, including PSM, IV, policy DID, and the Heckman two-stage model. Further analysis reveals heterogeneous effects across ESG components, regions, industries, market concentration, and succession stages. Marital quality and Confucian culture exert moderating effects. The study further classifies mediating variables into three categories: governance optimization, agency cost reduction, and financial constraint alleviation, and conducts mechanism tests accordingly. Among these, governance optimization, especially via female executives, family involvement, and internal control, plays a key role. Finally, ESG performance negatively affects short-term firm value, while Couples’ Joint Holdings partially mitigate this effect.

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