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Why greenwashing occurs and what happens afterwards? A systematic literature review and future research agenda

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Abstract

The greenwashing phenomenon, which implies the misalignment between environmental disclosure and performance, has received significant scholarly attention. We review the diverse literature on corporate greenwashing to develop an integrative framework that examines its antecedents and consequences from the perspective of corporate governance. Specifically, we identify theoretical perspectives commonly assumed in the literature on greenwashing, including green marketing, green finance, signaling strategy, and corporate decoupling. We outline why and how greenwashing occurs from the aspects of external governance environments and internal governance mechanisms, and what influences greenwashing exerts on firm performance and stakeholder reactions. The analysis further leads to the identification of a research agenda to continue advancing our understanding of corporate greenwashing. Future studies should re-evaluate whether environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues should be included in greenwashing, address potential trade-offs within an ESG framework, explore internal governance mechanisms that influence greenwashing, and examine the differentiated impacts of corporate greenwashing on various stakeholders.

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Notes

  1. This search included articles published before March 8th, 2023.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 72174096), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. QNMS202306), and the Fund for Talent Development from the South China University of Technology (No. 20210075).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Academy of Corporate Governance, Business School, Nankai University, Baidi Road No.121, Nankai District, Tianjin, China

    Yupei Liu & Weian Li

  2. Business School, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin, China

    Weian Li

  3. School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, Wushan Road No.381, Tianhe District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China

    Lixiang Wang

  4. Bohai Securities Postdoctoral Research Workstation, Ninghui Building, Shuishang Park East Road, Nankai District, Tianjin, China

    Qiankun Meng

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  1. Yupei Liu
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Contributions

YL and WL contributed to the study conception and design. Literature search and data analysis were performed by YL, LW, and QM. The first draft of the manuscript was written by YL. QM and LW revised and commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Qiankun Meng.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 6 Studies discuss both the antecedents and consequences of greenwashing
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Liu, Y., Li, W., Wang, L. et al. Why greenwashing occurs and what happens afterwards? A systematic literature review and future research agenda. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 118102–118116 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30571-z

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