IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i20p9055-d1502165.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Defining Greenwashing: A Concept Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Matthew J. Spaniol

    (Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark)

  • Evita Danilova-Jensen

    (Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark)

  • Martin Nielsen

    (Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark)

  • Carl Gyldenkærne Rosdahl

    (Department of People and Technology, Roskilde University, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark)

  • Clara Jasmin Schmidt

    (Global Business Informatics, IT University of Copenhagen, 2300 Copenhagen, Denmark)

Abstract

The lack of a shared, operant definition for greenwashing has led to fragmented scholarly research, unclear guidelines for practice, inconsistent enforcement, and reactive policy frameworks; resulting in ineffective efforts to combat its growth. Using concept analysis, this research establishes a composite definition for greenwashing by identifying the constitutive attributes sourced across 79 scholarly definitions. The analysis finds six requirements necessary for identifying greenwashing: a claim on environmental performance by a private sector organization marketing a product or a service, which cannot be substantiated, made with deceptive intent, and done to establish a competitive advantage. Fulfilling these criteria warrants an accusation of greenwashing. With the aim to prevent its further spread and misuse, the article provides a diagnostic tool for separating similar but often conflated concepts from greenwashing to organize scholarly research, provide guidelines for practitioners, and support regulators’ case analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew J. Spaniol & Evita Danilova-Jensen & Martin Nielsen & Carl Gyldenkærne Rosdahl & Clara Jasmin Schmidt, 2024. "Defining Greenwashing: A Concept Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:9055-:d:1502165
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/9055/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/20/9055/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pascual Berrone & Andrea Fosfuri & Liliana Gelabert, 2017. "Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 363-379, August.
    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. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. Cohen, Mark A. & Vandenbergh, Michael P., 2012. "The potential role of carbon labeling in a green economy," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(S1), pages 53-63.
    7. Riccardo Torelli, 2020. "Sustainability, responsibility and ethics: different concepts for a single path," Social Responsibility Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 17(5), pages 719-739, July.
    8. 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.
    9. Olga Hawn & Ioannis Ioannou, 2016. "Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal actions in the case of corporate social responsibility," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(13), pages 2569-2588, December.
    10. Leopoldo Gutierrez & Ivan Montiel & Jordi A. Surroca & Josep A. Tribo, 2022. "Rainbow Wash or Rainbow Revolution? Dynamic Stakeholder Engagement for SDG-Driven Responsible Innovation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 1113-1136, November.
    11. 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.
    12. S. Sethi & Donald Schepers, 2014. "United Nations Global Compact: The Promise–Performance Gap," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 122(2), pages 193-208, June.
    13. Peter Seele & Mario D. Schultz, 2022. "From Greenwashing to Machinewashing: A Model and Future Directions Derived from Reasoning by Analogy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(4), pages 1063-1089, July.
    14. Yvette Sterbenk & Sara Champlin & Kasey Windels & Summer Shelton, 2022. "Is Femvertising the New Greenwashing? Examining Corporate Commitment to Gender Equality," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 177(3), pages 491-505, May.
    15. Mike Thomas & Caroline Rowland, 2014. "Leadership, Pragmatism and Grace: A Review," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 123(1), pages 99-111, August.
    16. Xingqiang Du, 2015. "How the Market Values Greenwashing? Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 547-574, May.
    17. John Richard Kurpierz & Ken Smith, 2020. "The greenwashing triangle: adapting tools from fraud to improve CSR reporting," Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 11(6), pages 1075-1093, May.
    18. Shawn Pope & Arild Wæraas, 2016. "CSR-Washing is Rare: A Conceptual Framework, Literature Review, and Critique," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 137(1), pages 173-193, August.
    19. Xue, Yuemei & Lai, Kee-hung, 2023. "Responsible shipping for sustainable development: Adoption and performance value," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 89-99.
    20. Zhang, Dongyang, 2023. "Does green finance really inhibit extreme hypocritical ESG risk? A greenwashing perspective exploration," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    21. Torelli, Riccardo, 2020. "Sustainability, Responsibility and Ethics: Different Concepts for a Single Path," OSF Preprints hb92c, Center for Open Science.
    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. Rosa Fioravante, 2024. "Beyond the Business Case for Responsible Artificial Intelligence: Strategic CSR in Light of Digital Washing and the Moral Human Argument," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(3), pages 1-16, February.
    3. 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.
    4. 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).
    5. Liao, Feimei & Sun, Yinghao & Xu, Shulin, 2023. "Financial report comment letters and greenwashing in environmental, social and governance disclosures: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    6. 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.
    7. Yin, Lei & Yang, Yuanyuan, 2024. "How does digital finance influence corporate greenwashing behavior?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PB), pages 359-373.
    8. 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.
    9. Patrick Velte, 2023. "Determinants and consequences of corporate social responsibility decoupling—Status quo and limitations of recent empirical quantitative research," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(6), pages 2695-2717, November.
    10. 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.
    11. Peng Hu & Xuming Li & Nian Li & Yiying Wang & Derek D. Wang, 2024. "Peeking into Corporate Greenwashing through the Readability of ESG Disclosures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    12. 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.
    13. Venturelli, Valeria & Pedrazzoli, Alessia & Pennetta, Daniela & Gualandri, Elisabetta, 2024. "Pinkwashing in the banking industry: The relevance of board characteristics," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(PB).
    14. 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.
    15. 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.
    16. 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.
    17. 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).
    18. 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.
    19. Torelli, Riccardo & Balluchi, Federica & Lazzini, Arianna, 2019. "Greenwashing and Environmental Communication: Effects on Stakeholders’ Perceptions," OSF Preprints 97vxn, Center for Open Science.
    20. Hu, Xinwen & Hua, Renhai & Liu, Qingfu & Wang, Chuanjie, 2023. "The green fog: Environmental rating disagreement and corporate greenwashing," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:20:p:9055-:d:1502165. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.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.