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The effect of greenwashing on online consumer engagement: A comparative study in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom

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  • İbrahim Topal
  • Sima Nart
  • Cüneyt Akar
  • Alptekin Erkollar

Abstract

The effect of the Volkswagen emission crisis in 2015, the biggest greenwashing event in recent years, on the online consumer engagement of Facebook brand pages was investigated in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. These countries have been selected for the reason that Volkswagen sales and diesel‐engine cars and the use of social media are quite common. For 6 years in these four countries, the likes, comments, and shares made by consumers on the Facebook brand page of Volkswagen have been examined. The monthly dataset covers January 2012 to December 2017. The obtained data were analyzed with autoregressive–moving average models. Despite a globally positive approach to green products, countries' attitudes toward greenwashing have been significantly different. The findings showed that online consumer engagement was negative in the United Kingdom and Turkey and in a positive direction in Germany, whereas there was no change in France in the fourth quarter of 2015.

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  • İbrahim Topal & Sima Nart & Cüneyt Akar & Alptekin Erkollar, 2020. "The effect of greenwashing on online consumer engagement: A comparative study in France, Germany, Turkey, and the United Kingdom," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 465-480, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:bstrat:v:29:y:2020:i:2:p:465-480
    DOI: 10.1002/bse.2380
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    2. Linda Kusumaning Wedari & Christine Jubb & Amir Moradi‐Motlagh, 2021. "Corporate climate‐related voluntary disclosures: Does potential greenwash exist among Australian high emitters reports?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 3721-3739, December.
    3. Zhang, Wei & Qin, Chu & Zhang, Wenyao, 2023. "Top management team characteristics, technological innovation and firm's greenwashing: Evidence from China's heavy-polluting industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    4. Evangelia Ktisti & Leonidas Hatzithomas & Christina Boutsouki, 2022. "Green Advertising on Social Media: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-25, November.
    5. Yinglin Huang & Claude Francoeur & Stephen Brammer, 2022. "What drives and curbs brownwashing?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2518-2532, July.
    6. De Luca, Francesco & Iaia, Lea & Mehmood, Asad & Vrontis, Demetris, 2022. "Corrigendum to “Can social media improve stakeholder engagement and communication of Sustainable Development Goals? A cross-country analysis”," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    7. De Luca, Francesco & Iaia, Lea & Mehmood, Asad & Vrontis, Demetris, 2022. "Can social media improve stakeholder engagement and communication of Sustainable Development Goals? A cross-country analysis," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    8. Divinus Oppong-Tawiah & Jane Webster, 2023. "Corporate Sustainability Communication as ‘Fake News’: Firms’ Greenwashing on Twitter," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-26, April.

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