ABSTRACT
COVID-19 has stimulated additional research interest on economic sustainability and ESG in both academia and industry. This study adopts a DEA approach to examine the efficiency of achieving ESG targets and their relationships with financial performance. Using MSCI ESG data from 2015 to 2019 on 1108 Chinese firms, we examine the ESG proportional and pillar mix efficiencies. The dominant strategies for our sampled firms are to improve overall ESG performance by enhancing the E and S pillars through sacrificing G's performance. The second result shows a positive relationship between proportional efficiency and financial performance while a mixed relationship between pillar mix efficiency and financial performance. However, for the technology sector, there exists some trade-offs between ESG performance and financial performance. Specifically, relative to non-technology firms, improving proportional and pillar mix efficiencies for technology firms could result in some sacrifice in stock valuation. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.