ESG理论的体系化建构

——基于理论分层建构视角

肖红军　丁凤茹

（中国社会科学院）

摘要：在环境、社会和治理（ESG）实践日益深化的背景下，推动相关理论的体系化建构，对于深化ESG理论内涵、提升实践科学性具有重要意义。本文从合理性、践行动机、实践路径、信息披露与投资逻辑五个维度回顾ESG理论图景，揭示现有研究在理论整合与体系支撑方面的不足。基于理论分层建构视角，本文以双向影响为核心，沿“双向嵌入—双重目的—双重可持续性—双向影响管理”的逻辑主线建构ESG理论体系。具体而言，以新经济社会学为根理论，揭示了企业与社会的双向嵌入关系，奠定了ESG的合理性根基；以可持续发展理论与利益相关者理论为首位理论，提出了企业目的应重构为企业与社会的双重可持续发展，为ESG实践提供了正当性依据；以制度逻辑、组织双元性和系统动力学为次位理论，从制度多元性、组织双元性到系统反馈性，系统阐释了ESG实现双重可持续性的核心机制；以ESG议题管理与ESG价值链理论为应用理论，构建了双向影响管理实践路径。该体系不仅为ESG研究提供了综合全面、层次清晰的理论框架，也为政府科学引导ESG发展、企业有效践行ESG提供了理论依据与路径指导。

关键词：ESG；可持续发展；嵌入性；双向影响；分层建构

作者简介：肖红军，中国社会科学院工业经济研究所研究员、博士生导师，北京，100006；丁凤茹，中国社会科学院大学商学院博士研究生，通信作者。

基金项目：国家社会科学基金人才项目“企业数字责任的驱动逻辑、实施范式与治理创新研究”（25VRC094）；中国社会科学院登峰战略企业管理优势学科建设项目（DF2023YS25）

引用格式：肖红军,丁凤茹.ESG理论的体系化建构——基于理论分层建构视角[J].经济与管理研究,2026,47(6):63-79.

Systematic Construction of ESG Theory

—From the Perspective of Layered Theoretical Construction

XIAO Hongjun, DING Fengru

(Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100006)

Abstract: As a new management concept and investment philosophy, environmental, social and governance (ESG) has been accompanied by skepticism and criticism throughout its development. A central reason lies in the fact that the ESG theoretical system remains underdeveloped. Therefore, promoting the construction of the ESG theoretical system is of great significance for deepening its theoretical connotation and enhancing the scientific rigor of ESG practice.

This paper systematically reviews the theoretical landscape of ESG from five dimensions: legitimacy, motivational drivers, practical pathways, information disclosure, and investment logic. It reveals current limitations in theoretical integration and systemic support. From a layered theoretical construction perspective, this paper constructs the ESG theoretical system centered on bidirectional influence, following the logical progression of bidirectional embeddedness, dual objectives, dual sustainability, and bidirectional influence management. Specifically, new economic sociology, as the root theory, reveals the bidirectional embeddedness between enterprises and society, from which bidirectional influence relations emerge, establishing the theoretical foundation for ESG’s rationality. Sustainable development theory and stakeholder theory, as primary theories, propose that corporate objectives should be reconfigured toward dual sustainability for both enterprises and society, thereby justifying ESG’s legitimacy at the value level. Institutional logic theory, organizational ambidexterity theory, and system dynamics theory, as secondary theories, respectively explain the intrinsic mechanisms through which ESG achieves dual sustainability, transforming abstract value propositions into actionable and practical logic. ESG issue management theory and ESG value chain theory, as application theories, build upon the preceding three theoretical layers to propose actionable and practical pathways. They transform abstract theoretical logic into concrete management mechanisms, collectively constructing a cross-layered, logically coherent, and practically applicable ESG theoretical system.

This theoretical system integrates multiple disciplinary perspectives, systematically addressing core issues related to ESG. It constructs a complete logical loop from theoretical foundation to practical pathways, promoting the theoretical integration of ESG research from fragmented discussions to systematic integration. This paper not only lays an academic foundation for the theoretical development of ESG but also provides a systematic and operational framework for enterprises to formulate ESG strategies and for the government to design regulatory policies. By systematically identifying stakeholders and mapping relationships, enterprises can effectively manage the bidirectional influence between their business activities and the social environment, thereby promoting sustainable development. The government can design relevant ESG policies scientifically and reasonably based on a deep understanding of the bidirectional embeddedness relationship between enterprises and society.

Keywords: ESG; sustainable development; embeddedness; bidirectional influence; layered construction

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