Ownership Structure, Corporate Governance, and Performance of Listed Companies—An Empirical Application of a Semi-Parametric Quantile Regression Model

China’s listed companies have different ownership characteristics and market environments from those of other countries and thus exhibit vastly different changes. From the existing corporate life cycle perspective, companies differ in their different development stages, which makes each factor’s effect dynamic. How to adjust the governance mechanism to the requirements of the company’s stage of development is an urgent issue in sustainable corporate governance. To address the above issues, we establish a semi-parametric quantile regression model to analyze the relationship between the ownership structure and corporate performance based on the data of listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange between 2013 and 2021. Moreover, corporate governance measures taken at different stages of the corporate life cycle are discussed to see whether they effectively improve corporate governance. We conclude that there are non-linear effects of ownership structure while dynamic changes in corporate governance mechanisms exist. Companies should be concerned about the non-linear effects of ownership structures while considering the company’s life cycle and choosing appropriate governance measures. The results will help develop a sustainable development strategy to ensure that the company can improve its profitability and mitigate agency problems.