IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eco/journ2/2024-04-42.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Trends in Scientific Production on Greenwashing based on Scopus (1990-2023)

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos Ignacio Gallo Aguila

    (Universidad César Vallejo, Peru)

  • María del Pilar Castro Arellano

    (Universidad Alas Peruranas, Peru)

  • Marco Antonio Rodríguez Vega

    (Universidad Privada Antenor Orrego, Peru)

  • Eliana Maritza Barturen Mondragón

    (Universidad Señor de Sipán, Peru)

  • María del Pilar Quezada Castro

    (Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Peru)

  • Guillermo Alexander Quezada Castro

    (Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Peru)

Abstract

Greenwashing is a misleading practice that affects environmental sustainability and has an impact on the organizational, social, and environmental levels, as it is generated to create a non-real and illusory image of ecological responsibility. The present study conducted a review of the scientific production in the Scopus database, obtaining 1438 documents. Inclusion criteria were used and the PRISMA statement was used to guide the documentary analysis. Likewise, bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and Biblioshiny were used. The results obtained show that the topic of study has grown exponentially in recent years and the keywords that stand out are corporate social responsibility, environmental communications and reporting, normative regulation, and implications at the financial, social, and ethical levels. There is also interest in consolidating new collaborative networks among authors, with the most cited paper being "The drivers of Greenwashing". It was concluded that greenwashing is a multidisciplinary phenomenon that requires attention from the scientific community and that it is the clients or consumers who perceive the lack of ethics and the absence of environmental commitment in organizations. Criminal liability arising from greenwashing is identified as a future line of research.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos Ignacio Gallo Aguila & María del Pilar Castro Arellano & Marco Antonio Rodríguez Vega & Eliana Maritza Barturen Mondragón & María del Pilar Quezada Castro & Guillermo Alexander Quezada Cast, 2024. "Trends in Scientific Production on Greenwashing based on Scopus (1990-2023)," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 464-471, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:eco:journ2:2024-04-42
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijeep/article/download/16281/8004
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijeep/article/view/16281
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Aria, Massimo & Cuccurullo, Corrado, 2017. "bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 959-975.
    2. Ioannis Ioannou & George Kassinis & Giorgos Papagiannakis, 2023. "The Impact of Perceived Greenwashing on Customer Satisfaction and the Contingent Role of Capability Reputation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 185(2), pages 333-347, June.
    3. Gergely Nyilasy & Harsha Gangadharbatla & Angela Paladino, 2014. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Interactive Effects of Green Advertising and Corporate Environmental Performance on Consumer Reactions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(4), pages 693-707, December.
    4. Marta Pizzetti & Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele, 2021. "Firms Talk, Suppliers Walk: Analyzing the Locus of Greenwashing in the Blame Game and Introducing ‘Vicarious Greenwashing’," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 170(1), pages 21-38, April.
    5. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    6. Francesco Testa & Olivier Boiral & Fabio Iraldo, 2018. "Internalization of Environmental Practices and Institutional Complexity: Can Stakeholders Pressures Encourage Greenwashing?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 287-307, January.
    7. Rajna Gibson Brandon & Simon Glossner & Philipp Krueger & Pedro Matos & Tom Steffen, 2022. "Do Responsible Investors Invest Responsibly? [Why and how investors use ESG information: evidence from a global survey]," Review of Finance, European Finance Association, vol. 26(6), pages 1389-1432.
    8. Rüdiger Hahn & Regina Lülfs, 2014. "Legitimizing Negative Aspects in GRI-Oriented Sustainability Reporting: A Qualitative Analysis of Corporate Disclosure Strategies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(3), pages 401-420, September.
    9. Pengyu Chen & Abd Alwahed Dagestani, 2023. "Greenwashing behavior and firm value – From the perspective of board characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2330-2343, September.
    10. Christopher Marquis & Michael W. Toffel & Yanhua Zhou, 2016. "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 483-504, April.
    11. Siano, Alfonso & Vollero, Agostino & Conte, Francesca & Amabile, Sara, 2017. "“More than words”: Expanding the taxonomy of greenwashing after the Volkswagen scandal," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 27-37.
    12. Sergio Braga Junior & Marta Pagán Martínez & Caroline Miranda Correa & Rosamaria Cox Moura-Leite & Dirceu Da Silva, 2019. "Greenwashing effect, attitudes, and beliefs in green consumption," RAUSP Management Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 54(2), pages 226-241, March.
    13. Rajat Panwar & Karen Paul & Erlend Nybakk & Eric Hansen & Derek Thompson, 2014. "The Legitimacy of CSR Actions of Publicly Traded Companies Versus Family-Owned Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 481-496, December.
    14. Mahoney, Lois S. & Thorne, Linda & Cecil, Lianna & LaGore, William, 2013. "A research note on standalone corporate social responsibility reports: Signaling or greenwashing?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 350-359.
    15. Béatrice Parguel & Florence Benoît-Moreau & Cristel Russell, 2015. "Can evoking nature in advertising mislead consumers? The power of ‘executional greenwashing'," Post-Print hal-01463025, HAL.
    16. Peter Seele & Lucia Gatti, 2017. "Greenwashing Revisited: In Search of a Typology and Accusation‐Based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 239-252, February.
    17. Yue Wu & Kaifu Zhang & Jinhong Xie, 2020. "Bad Greenwashing, Good Greenwashing: Corporate Social Responsibility and Information Transparency," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(7), pages 3095-3112, July.
    18. Cristina Chueca Vergara & Luis Ferruz Agudo, 2021. "Fintech and Sustainability: Do They Affect Each Other?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(13), pages 1-19, June.
    19. Thomas P. Lyon & John W. Maxwell, 2011. "Greenwash: Corporate Environmental Disclosure under Threat of Audit," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(1), pages 3-41, March.
    20. Xingqiang Du & Yingying Chang & Quan Zeng & Yingjie Du & Hongmei Pei, 2016. "Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) weakness, media coverage, and corporate philanthropy: Evidence from China," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 551-581, June.
    21. Gerdien de Vries & Bart W. Terwel & Naomi Ellemers & Dancker D. L. Daamen, 2015. "Sustainability or Profitability? How Communicated Motives for Environmental Policy Affect Public Perceptions of Corporate Greenwashing," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(3), pages 142-154, May.
    22. Abeer Mohamed Hassan & Lee Roberts & Jill Atkins, 2020. "Exploring factors relating to extinction disclosures: What motivates companies to report on biodiversity and species protection?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1419-1436, March.
    23. David Markham & Anshuman Khare & Terry Beckman, 2014. "Greenwashing: A Proposal To Restrict Its Spread," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(04), pages 1-16.
    24. Eun-Hee Kim & Thomas P. Lyon, 2015. "Greenwash vs. Brownwash: Exaggeration and Undue Modesty in Corporate Sustainability Disclosure," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 26(3), pages 705-723, June.
    25. Liu, Changyu & Song, Yadong & Wang, Wei & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "The governance of manufacturers’ greenwashing behaviors: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis of electric vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    26. Szerena Szabo & Jane Webster, 2021. "Perceived Greenwashing: The Effects of Green Marketing on Environmental and Product Perceptions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 171(4), pages 719-739, July.
    27. Éric Archambault & David Campbell & Yves Gingras & Vincent Larivière, 2009. "Comparing bibliometric statistics obtained from the Web of Science and Scopus," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(7), pages 1320-1326, July.
    28. Francesco Testa & Ivan Miroshnychenko & Roberto Barontini & Marco Frey, 2018. "Does it pay to be a greenwasher or a brownwasher?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1104-1116, November.
    29. Evangelia Sdrolia & Grigoris Zarotiadis, 2019. "A Comprehensive Review For Green Product Term: From Definition To Evaluation," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(1), pages 150-178, February.
    30. Xingqiang Du, 2015. "How the Market Values Greenwashing? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 547-574, May.
    31. Tetyana Pimonenko & Yuriy Bilan & Jakub Horák & Liudmyla Starchenko & Waldemar Gajda, 2020. "Green Brand of Companies and Greenwashing under Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    32. Alfonso Siano & Francesca Conte & Sara Amabile & Agostino Vollero & Paolo Piciocchi, 2016. "Communicating Sustainability: An Operational Model for Evaluating Corporate Websites," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(9), pages 1-16, September.
    33. Francesco Testa & Roberta Iovino & Fabio Iraldo, 2020. "The circular economy and consumer behaviour: The mediating role of information seeking in buying circular packaging," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3435-3448, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesca Bernini & Fabio La Rosa, 2024. "Research in the greenwashing field: concepts, theories, and potential impacts on economic and social value," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(2), pages 405-444, June.
    2. Célia Santos & Arnaldo Coelho & Alzira Marques, 2024. "A systematic literature review on greenwashing and its relationship to stakeholders: state of art and future research agenda," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 1397-1421, September.
    3. Marco Ghitti & Gianfranco Gianfrate & Lorenza Palma, 2024. "The agency of greenwashing," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 28(3), pages 905-941, September.
    4. Torelli, Riccardo & Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna, 2019. "Greenwashing and Environmental Communication: Effects on Stakeholders’ Perceptions," OSF Preprints 97vxn, Center for Open Science.
    5. Vera Ferrón‐Vílchez & Jesus Valero‐Gil & Inés Suárez‐Perales, 2021. "How does greenwashing influence managers' decision‐making? An experimental approach under stakeholder view," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 860-880, March.
    6. Wei Wang & Dechao Ma & Fengzhi Wu & Mengxin Sun & Shuangqing Xu & Qiuyue Hua & Ziyuan Sun, 2023. "Exploring the Knowledge Structure and Hotspot Evolution of Greenwashing: A Visual Analysis Based on Bibliometrics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-35, January.
    7. Riccardo Torelli & Federica Balluchi & Arianna Lazzini, 2020. "Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 407-421, February.
    8. Javier Amores‐Salvadó & Gregorio Martin‐de Castro & Elisabeth Albertini, 2023. "Walking the talk, but above all, talking the walk: Looking green for market stakeholder engagement," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(1), pages 431-442, January.
    9. Wei Li & Weining Li & Veikko Seppänen & Timo Koivumäki, 2023. "Effects of greenwashing on financial performance: Moderation through local environmental regulation and media coverage," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 820-841, January.
    10. Jennifer L. Robertson & A. Wren Montgomery & Timur Ozbilir, 2023. "Employees' response to corporate greenwashing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7), pages 4015-4027, November.
    11. 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.
    12. Huang, Kuo-Jui & Bui, Dien Giau & Hsu, Yuan-Teng & Lin, Chih-Yung, 2024. "The ESG washing in banks: Evidence from the syndicated loan market," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    13. Javier Amores‐salvadó & Gregorio Martin‐de Castro & Elisabeth Albertini, 2022. "Walking the talk, but above all, talking the walk: Looking green for market stakeholder engagement," Post-Print halshs-03760088, HAL.
    14. Lucia Gatti & Peter Seele & Lars Rademacher, 2019. "Grey zone in – greenwash out. A review of greenwashing research and implications for the voluntary-mandatory transition of CSR," International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Gatti, Lucia & Pizzetti, Marta & Seele, Peter, 2021. "Green lies and their effect on intention to invest," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 228-240.
    16. Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna & Torelli, Riccardo, 2020. "CSR and Greenwashing: A Matter of Perception in the Search of Legitimacy," OSF Preprints 5x6sy, Center for Open Science.
    17. Francesco Testa & Ivan Miroshnychenko & Roberto Barontini & Marco Frey, 2018. "Does it pay to be a greenwasher or a brownwasher?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 1104-1116, November.
    18. Pengyu Chen & Abd Alwahed Dagestani, 2023. "Greenwashing behavior and firm value – From the perspective of board characteristics," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2330-2343, September.
    19. Wei Li & Weining Li & Veikko Seppänen & Timo Koivumäki, 2022. "How and when does perceived greenwashing affect employees' job performance? Evidence from China," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1722-1735, September.
    20. Birindelli, Giuliana & Chiappini, Helen & Jalal, Raja Nabeel-Ud-Din, 2024. "Greenwashing, bank financial performance and the moderating role of gender diversity," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environment; Economics; Ethics; Environmental Management; Organization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • K13 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Tort Law and Product Liability; Forensic Economics
    • K15 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Civil Law; Common Law
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eco:journ2:2024-04-42. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ilhan Ozturk (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.econjournals.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.