Dr. Yue Xiang

Selected Working Papers

The Carbon Cost of Competitive Pressure (with Vesa Pursiainen and Hanwen Sun)

• Presentations: EUROFIDAI-ESSEC Paris December Finance Meeting 2025, CEPR Climate Change and the Environment Symposium 2025, FMA Asia/Pacific Conference 2025, GRASFI Annual Conference 2025, DGF German Finance Association Annual Meeting 2025, Financial Economics of Climate and Sustainability Oxford Workshop 2025, Sustainability at Crossroads: the Edinburgh and International Review of Finance Conference 2025, Sabanci Business School Finance Workshop 2025, Shanghai-Edinburgh-London Green Finance Conference 2025, NTHU-UNSW-SMU Symposium on Sustainable Finance and Economics 2025, Sustainability and Finance Conference 2025, Vietnam Symposium in Banking and Finance 2025, University of Bristol.

• Abstract: Higher exposure to competition is associated with higher carbon emission intensity, via both higher absolute emissions and lower revenues. Higher emissions in the short-term are not followed by medium-term improvements, suggesting that competition does not pressure companies to become greener. Large tariff increases that reduce competitive pressure are associated with reductions in carbon intensity of the affected firms. The relationship between competition and carbon emissions is stronger in areas less concerned about climate change and for less profitable firms. Higher competition is associated with a shift towards more domestic emissions and less emissions in countries with carbon pricing schemes.

To Acquire or to Ally? Foreign Competition and Firm Boundary (with Hanwen Sun, Fangming Xu, and Chenjian Zhang)

• Award: China Financial Engineering Annual Conference 2023 Best Paper Award.

• Presentations: University of Southern Denmark Finance Workshop 2025, International Conference of the French Finance Association 2024, China Financial Engineering Annual Conference 2023, FMA Annual Meeting 2023, International Corporate Governance Conference 2023, FMA European Conference 2023, EAA Annual Congress 2023, British Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference 2023, Financial Markets and Corporate Governance Conference 2023, Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference 2023, Loughborough University.

• Abstract: This study examines how foreign competition influences firms’ external growth strategies. Exploiting staggered U.S. import tariff reductions as a quasi-natural experiment, we find that heightened competition drives firms’ preferences toward forming strategic alliances. This shift is more pronounced for firms with limited financial or operational flexibility, weaker competitive positions, and those operating in low-entry-barrier industries. Under competitive pressure, firms preferentially form alliances with partners in the same industry as well as in high-tech, business-to-consumer (B2C), and product-differentiated sectors. In the long term, alliance-focused firms exhibit higher R&D intensity and patent outputs. Overall, the study highlights how domestic firms reshape external growth choices, partner selection, and long-term innovation outcomes in response to global competition shocks.

Competitive Pressure and ESG (with Vesa Pursiainen and Hanwen Sun)

• Media coverage: Columbia Law School Blue Sky Blog, Oxford Business Law Blog, ProMarket, University of St.Gallen News, LexBlog.

• Presentations: FMA Asia/Pacific 2024, ZEW Ageing and Sustainable Finance Conference 2024, Women in Finance Warwick Workshop 2024, FIW-Research Conference 2024, CEPR and FGN-HSG Workshop 2024, Sustainability and Regulation Workshop 2023, FMA Annual Meeting 2022, GRASFI Annual Conference 2022, FMA European Conference 2022, Behavioural Finance Working Group Annual Conference 2022, EAA Annual Congress 2022, Australasian Finance and Banking Conference 2021, International Young Finance Scholar’s Conference 2021, Welsh Postgraduate Research Conference 2022, Central University of Finance and Economics, Durham University, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Queen’s University Belfast, Renmin University of China, University of Aberdeen, University of Exeter, University of International Business and Economics, Wuhan University.

• Abstract: A firm’s exposure to competition is negatively associated with its ESG performance. We measure domestic competitive pressure by product market fluidity, based on product text descriptions, and find that higher fluidity is associated with lower ESG scores. Similarly, higher exposure to Chinese import competition is associated with lower ESG scores. The effect of both domestic and foreign competitive pressure on ESG performance is larger for firms in Republican areas – where the reputational benefits of ESG are likely to be lower. Our findings suggest that firms’ incentives to invest in ESG depend on stakeholder preferences.

Academic Services

Conference Program Committee Member

• Eastern Finance Association Annual Meeting (2026, 2024)

• Southern Finance Association Annual Meeting (2025, 2024)

• Southwestern Finance Association Annual Meeting (2024)

• Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (2025, 2024, 2023)

• Financial Management Association European Conference (2025, 2024)

• Financial Management Association Asia/Pacific Conference (2025, 2024)

• Financial Management Association Applied Finance Conference (2025, 2024)