Title: How greenwashing influences formal and informal institutional benefits in China

Authors: Qiong Yao; Mubin Chen; Yizhun Feng

Addresses: Management School, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China ' Management School, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China ' Management School, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

Abstract: Enterprises are likely to adopt the greenwashing approach to obtain institutional benefits under an imperfect institutional background. Using panel data on Chinese enterprises from 2010 to 2015, we examine the possibility of enterprises obtaining formal and informal institutional benefits through greenwashing in China. Moreover, from the perspective of government enterprise relationships and social enterprise relationships, we show that government enterprise relationships positively regulate the relationship between greenwashing and formal institutional benefits, and public attention will weaken the positive relationship between greenwashing and informal institutional benefits. These results provide important implications for the relationship between greenwashing and institutional benefits and further highlight the value of government guidance and supervision of enterprises' greenwashing.

Keywords: greenwashing; formal institutional benefits; informal institutional benefits; government enterprise relationship; social enterprise relationship.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTPM.2024.135973

International Journal of Technology, Policy and Management, 2024 Vol.24 No.1, pp.1 - 18

Received: 10 Jun 2022
Accepted: 21 Oct 2022
Published online: 11 Jan 2024 *