PONE-D-24-49919ESG Growth Catalyst: China's Central Bank Collateral framework expansionPLOS ONE

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Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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Reviewers' comments:

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Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

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Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Reviewer #1: The paper's topic and conducted research are very important and justified to be presented in a high-quality Journal. The subject is very important for the literature. The paper is informative, but some issues need to be addressed carefully. My decision is – a major revision, with some amendments. Please see my comments and suggestions below.

Comment 1. The Introduction needs to be rearranged, and more work is needed to strengthen the theoretical basis. Additionally, how this study bridges the research gaps should be elucidated. The following paper can be a good example to help you improve your paper (Does firm‐level exposure to climate change influence inward foreign direct investment? Revealing the moderating role of ESG performance. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2917).

Comment 2. More existing literature should be presented in the introduction. The following paper can be a good example to help you improve your paper (Effect of ESG Performance on Corporate Green Technology Innovation: The Mediating Role of Financial Constraints and Digital Transformation. The Singapore Economic Review, 1-26.).

Comment 3. Also, please add the structure of this study at the end of the introduction.

Comment 4. The manuscript falls short in terms of theoretical development. What theories can be used as the theoretical basis for your research topic?

Comment 5. The arguments proposed for Hypotheses 1, 2a and 2b are insufficient to support the proposition of these hypotheses. The authors should address the arguments for each hypothesis separately. Also, Hypothesis 3c should be supported by more existing literature.

Comment 6. The theoretical model should be presented in section 2.

Comment 7. The authors should add the section conclusion.

Comment 8. The language of this paper is very bad and needs help from native speakers.

Good luck for your work!

Reviewer #2: The author(s) has/have done well in addressing an important research topic entitled ‘ESG Growth Catalyst: China's Central Bank Collateral framework expansion. However I have the following observations and suggestion that can improve the quality of the paper.

1. The abstract should clearly highlight the major findings of the study

2. Explanation about the contribution of the paper needs to be improved.

3. While developing the hypotheses, the author(s) did not provide proper arguments and synthesize the literature. Generally, the literature review has not been locally and extensively discussed with many unexpected hypotheses

4. There is a need for the authors to clearly explain the reasons for including green innovation of corporations in the paper.

5. The authors need to discuss and justify the period and the sample they used in the methodology

6. What is the meaning of 5 Discussion in the paper? Is it written in the right place? Please, check

7. There are many typographical errors in the manuscript for instance; (in the abstract ‘be-tween’) (first paragraph of introduction (chain ++management). There is a need for a serious proofreading of the paper

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Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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ESG Growth Catalyst: China's Central Bank Collateral framework expansion

PONE-D-24-49919R1

Dear Dr. Zhao,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

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Kind regards,

Wafa Ghardallou

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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