Abstract: The question of whether good stakeholder relationships can solve a wider range of ESG issues has attracted much attention. As the most direct stakeholders of a company, the major shareholders usually have a significant impact on the formulation and implementation of corporate strategy. Taking A-share listed companies from 2009 to 2021 as samples, this study examines the impact and mechanism of multiple large shareholders on corporate ESG performance. The results indicate that the multiple large shareholders can improve corporate ESG performance. This incentive effect is more significant when there are more major shareholders and a higher proportion of shareholding relative to the controlling shareholder. Furthermore, multiple large shareholders promotes corporate ESG strategic adjustments mainly by alleviating the financing constraints faced by the enterprise and monitoring the opportunistic behavior of the controlling shareholders. In addition, the participation of institutional investors, news media, and external auditors as three external information intermediaries can form a synergistic governance effect with multiple major shareholders, thereby having a positive impact on the relationship between multiple large shareholders and corporate ESG performance. Therefore, policy makers should encourage and support the diversification of corporate equity, fully guide the external stakeholders to play a supervisory and governance role, and promote enterprises to actively practice sustainable concepts.

Key words: multiple large shareholders, ESG performance, corporate governance, stakeholders