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Greenwashing Revisited: In Search of a Typology and Accusation-Based Definition Incorporating Legitimacy Strategies
Abstract
Is greenwashing a concept describing companies using misleading communication or is it co-constructed in the eye of the beholder? By discussing the literature, we find that existing definitions of greenwashing overemphasize the strategic intention to mislead and do not incorporate unjust allegations. Then, by combining signaling theory with legitimacy theory, we frame the communication process of the greenwashing accusation and the emergence of a negative narrative caused by the accusation and its effect on legitimacy. Hence, in this paper we argue that greenwashing epistemologically is constituted in the eye of the beholder, depending on an external accusation. Following this view, the greenwashing accusation is understood as a distortion factor altering the signal reliability of green messages. Based on our conceptual analysis, we provide a conceptual framework introducing a new typology of case-based greenwashing (greenwashing, false greenwashing, potential greenwashing and no greenwashing) and the effects of these types on corporate legitimacy. Finally, we propose a revised definition of greenwashing as co-creation of an external accusation toward an organization with regard to presenting a misleading green message.
... Therefore, the information perceived in the decision-making process, as well as the trust existing between the parties involved, plays a very relevant role in this theoretical approach. It is because of the above arguments that strategic cognition theory is an appropriate framework with which to analyze greenwashing at the individual level, because greenwashing largely depends on the eyes of the beholder, that is, a firm cannot be a greenwasher if it is not considered or perceived as such by a third party (Seele & Gatti, 2017). For this reason, greenwashing depends mainly on how it is perceived, that is, on cognitive structures. ...
... A firm's reputation is critical in building trust with different stakeholders, and negative information about its reputation can significantly reduce stakeholders' trust (Kim, 2019;Norheim-Hansen, 2015). As greenwashing can be seen as an attempt to mislead about a firm's environmental practices (Seele & Gatti, 2017), it can potentially damage a firm's reputation if uncovered/found/ discovered. As these three factors are important, we provide below explanations for their influence on trust in B2B relationships individually. ...
... Related to corporate scandals, greenwashing can be considered a reputation-damaging event, exposing companies to significant reputational risk (Coombs & Holladay, 2015;Gatzert, 2015;Siano et al., 2017). Thus, an individual who highly values corporate reputation will be less willing to establish business relationships with a greenwasher because, if the greenwasher is discovered (Seele & Gatti, 2017), the decision-maker might feel that his or her firm would, in one way or another, be tainted or implicated (Yang et al., 2020). Therefore, due to a greenwashing scandal, the corporate image of different business partners could be adversely affected, and this would negatively affect the corporate reputation. ...
Greenwashing can be perceived as dishonest behavior that can threaten trust in business deals due to the current trend of an intensive scrutiny of sustainability-related messages from organizations. Drawing on the literature concerning managerial trust, our study analyzes how perceived greenwashing negatively affects business-to-business relationships, focusing on two aspects: (1) whether managers’ perception of greenwashing is influenced by uncertainty in the business
decision-making process and (2) whether individual manager characteristics play a significant role in modulating this influence. We used an experimental design involving 125 Spanish managers to confirm the importance of uncertain
scenarios under the negative influence of greenwashing on business decision-Making process. The findings also confirm that this negative influence is intensified by managers’ characteristics in terms of risk aversion and the importance they
place on corporate reputation. The study makes several contributions to academia and practitioners by advancing the understanding of greenwashing in the context of business-to-business relationships.
... -analysis of the legal and economic nature of «greenwashing» [4] -studying the influence of greenwashing on consumers and their behavior [5] -assessing the impact of greenwashing on the companies' reputation and their income [6,7] -finding ways to improve legislation to reduce the negative impact of greenwashing [8,9] In terms of individual countries, the largest number of publications on the topic of greenwashing was generated in the USA [10], EU countries. The interest in this topic is growing in China [11], India [12], Russia [13]. ...
Greenwashing is a marketing technique used by companies to create a false impression that their products or activities are environmentally friendly or environmentally conscious. The article discusses the greenwashing prevalence in today’s market and its negative effects on consumers, the environment and society as a whole. The authors cite examples of greenwashing practices and offer recommendations for identifying and combating greenwashing.
... Consumers' purchasing patterns may change negatively if they have a favorable perception of CEBMs, such as thinking of them as merely marketing gimmicks or "greenwashing." The bottom line of a company may be impacted as a result of dimin-ished brand loyalty, decreased WTP, and unfavorable word-of-mouth (Seele and Gatti, 2017) There is a direct connection between customer views, purchasing patterns, and economic growth. Businesses can sway consumer purchasing decisions in their favor by assuring favorable customer views of CEBMs, which will have a noticeable and immediate effect on their financial growth trajectory. ...
This study investigates consumer perceptions of Circular Economy Business Models (CEBMs) and their impact on buying behaviors. It explores how consumers' understanding and evaluation of CEBMs influence their purchasing decisions and, consequently, the financial growth of businesses adopting these models. The research reveals that positive consumer perceptions towards CEBMs correlate with increased brand loyalty and a willingness to pay premium prices. Additionally, the study examines the role of environmental concerns and quality perceptions in shaping consumer behavior towards CEBMs. The findings contribute to understanding the dynamic interaction between consumer attitudes and sustainable business practices, offering insights for businesses aiming to integrate circularity into their operations.
... For example, there is disagreement over the effectiveness of divestment as a climate change mitigation strategy (Bergman, 2018;Braungardt et al., 2019). Some financial institutions defend their oil and gas investments, arguing that divesting from these industries will not make the low-carbon transition go any faster, so long as systematic In addition to this, if managers perceive that the market values environmental performance, then there is an incentive for them to present their environmental performance as favourably as possible (Seele & Gatti, 2017;Kurpierz & Smith, 2020). There is very little literature on 'greenwashing' among commercial and investment banks. ...
... However, there can be an inconsistency between a company's intention of promoting itself as green, and how this message is perceived by others. Accusations of greenwashing can therefore in some cases come from others viewing their performance with a critical eye (Seele and Gatti, 2017). ...
... Maintaining commitments to stakeholders and meeting their expectations has become a widely adopted approach in marketing and corporate communication strategies (Delmas & Burbano, 2011;Guo et al., 2018;Seele & Gatti, 2017). Initially, greenwashing is a tactic employed to distort a company's genuine social performance in the eyes of its stakeholders. ...
This study explores the phenomenon of greenwashing, where companies and industries mislead consumers and shareholders by presenting a positive environmental image that is not supported by their actions. The textile industry, known for its significant contribution to environmental pollution, is the focus of this research. The investigation begins by defining greenwashing and discussing its classification, causes, and consequences. They then examine the laws and standards in the textile industry, which aim to reduce pollution and environmental impact. The investigation further delves into specific topics related to the textile industry, such as fast fashion, the circular economy, and sustainability. It delves into the examination of life cycle assessment (LCA) and the utilization of the ReCiPe approach for assessing the ecological footprint of textile materials. The findings reveal that the use phase and manufacturing have the most significant environmental impacts. The study also discusses the Rescorla–Wagner learning algorithm in the context of life cycle cost (LCC) simulation. The simulation results unequivocally illustrate that the implementation of eco-labeling practices across various textile industries can yield remarkable improvements in environmental sustainability, surpassing the 90% mark. Furthermore, the environmental impact assessment underscores that the most significant environmental impacts are primarily concentrated in the usage and manufacturing phases, thus emphasizing the critical importance of enacting strategic policies in these domains.
Although being one of the most popular world fibres, wool industry is addressed with severe environmental allegations. While majority of scientific texts does not leave to much doubt about its production negative impact on the ecosystem, wool business does not stop to promote itself via green claims. The internet popular links present a divergent, positive picture of that material, where one might recognize parties being financially involved in such communication. As wool producers or organizations linked to wool business are top positioned in the web as providers of wool green image, the below article brings an interpretation of the industry greenwashing techniques. This comparative analysis of wool umbrella institutions’ webpages exposes myths endorsed about wool’s sustainability. The investigation follows case study of Woolmark brand, where associations to similar, highly ranked websites were conducted likewise. The results have been additionally matched with available scientific data from LCA relative statistics and The Higg Index, to provide contra argumentation from academic sources. The results of this paper could be used both by researchers or fashion lecturers, likewise by fashion marketers to recognize greenwashing techniques, to deliver adequate scientific numbers about unsustainable aspects of wool and to support them in creating a relevant content about wool’s environmental impacts.
Purpose
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is going through a critical period that challenges its capacity to respond to social and environmental crises, which could be associated with the growing Corporate Hypocrisy (CH) phenomenon. This study aims to identify the theoretical perspectives of the scientific literature on CH as a contemporary phenomenon concerning CSR.
Design/methodology/approach
We adopted a sequential mixed-method approach in this study. First, we conducted a bibliometric analysis of the publications on the Web of Science database. Subsequently, we performed a content analysis of CH with CSR.
Findings
The literature review revealed two main research paths: the first deals with the perceptions of hypocrisy; the second relates to the company’s responsibility for disclosure. In addition, we found that researchers use different expressions to refer to the gap between discourse and action in organisations. Some authors suggest subtle differences between these terms, while others use them interchangeably. The causes of this phenomenon vary according to the facets of hypocrisy and the negative implications for the reputation and credibility of companies.
Originality/value
This study contributes to understanding the dissociation between CSR statements and practices. To this end, it combines and collates the literature on a phenomenon studied from different sides using numerous designations.
The number of companies issuing green claims over the last several years has
increased dramatically as consumers and companies are paying more attention to their
environmental footprint. Repeatedly, corporations are accused of greenwashing on
websites that house such forums. The purpose of this paper is to begin to evaluate the
fairness of the critical public’s greenwashing accusations through a study of
environmental criticisms against a company. This paper presents the first
comprehensive framework for evaluating whether organizations are engaging in
greenwashing, which can be useful to both scholars and professional communicators.
Recommendations for studies about greenwashing are also presented.
Now organizations are always vulnerable to the liabilities of newness, but such pressures are especially severe when an industry is in its formative years. We focus on one set of constraints facing entrepreneurs in emerging industries-their relative lack of cognitive and sociopolitical legitimacy. We examine the strategies that founders can pursue, suggesting how their successful pursuit of legitimacy may evolve from innovative ventures to broader contexts, collectively reshaping industry and institutional environments.
The sustainability problems of the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services increasingly challenges the legitimacy of corporations. Corporate legitimacy, however, is vital to the survival of corporations in competitive environments. The literature distinguishes three strategies that corporations commonly employ to address legitimacy problems: adapt to external expectations, try to manipulate the perception of their stakeholders or engage in a discourse with those who question their legitimacy. This paper develops a theoretical framework for the application of different legitimacy strategies and suggests that corporations facing sustainability problems have to be able to activate all three legitimacy strategies, despite their inherent incompatibilities.
Green Marketing Goes Negative: The Advent of Reverse Greenwashing - Volume 3 Issue 4 - Eric L. Lane
This article synthesizes the large but diverse literature on organizational legitimacy, highlighting similarities and disparities among the leading strategic and institutional approaches. The analysis identifies three primary forms of legitimacy: pragmatic, based on audience self-interest; moral, based on normative approval: and cognitive, based on comprehensibility and taken-for-grantedness. The article then examines strategies for gaining, maintaining, and repairing legitimacy of each type, suggesting both the promises and the pitfalls of such instrumental manipulations.
The purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of green corporate advertising and corporate environmental performance. The study uses attribution theory borrowed from general psychology to explain factors of effectiveness in green advertising. An experiment with N=305 university students in the Northwestern United States was conducted. Findings indicate that there is a significant interaction effect between green advertising communication and Corporate Environmental Performance such that while under positive firm performance green advertising results in slightly higher attitudes toward the brand than general positive corporate messaging, under negative firm performance green advertising results in significantly lower brand attitudes than when a general corporate message is used.
Providing a much-needed critique of Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr) practice and scholarship, this book seeks to redress Csr advocacy, from a political and critical perspective. A strident approach backed up by extensive use of case studies presents the argument that most Csr-related activity aims to gain legitimacy from consumers and employees, and therefore furthers the exploitative and colonizing agenda of the corporation. By examining Csr in the context of the political economy of late capitalism, the book puts the emphasis back on the fact that most large corporations are fundamentally driven by profit maximization, making Csr initiatives merely another means to this end. Rather than undermining or challenging unsustainable corporate practices Csr is exposed as an ideological practice that actually upholds the prominence of such practices.