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Determinants and forecasting of corporate greenwashing behavior
Eckberg, Jens
, Dorfleitner, Gregor
, Kathan, Manuel C. and Utz, Sebastian
(2025)
Determinants and forecasting of corporate greenwashing behavior.
Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 241, p. 107354.
Date of publication of this fulltext: 09 Dec 2025 05:26
Article
DOI to cite this document: 10.5283/epub.78298
Abstract
This paper empirically analyzes the determinants of corporate greenwashing behavior to enhance forecasting and mitigation of greenwashing practices, particularly in the context of stakeholder decision-making. Using company-level characteristics from a sample of STOXX Europe 600 constituents, we show that ESG and environmental (E) scores exhibit a U-shaped relationship with greenwashing, ...
This paper empirically analyzes the determinants of corporate greenwashing behavior to enhance forecasting and mitigation of greenwashing practices, particularly in the context of stakeholder decision-making. Using company-level characteristics from a sample of STOXX Europe 600 constituents, we show that ESG and environmental (E) scores exhibit a U-shaped relationship with greenwashing, indicating that companies with both low and high (E)SG scores are more likely to engage in greenwashing. Additionally, ESG disclosure score, company size, cash-to-assets, and capital intensity are positively associated with greenwashing behavior. Furthermore, greenwashing behavior is more prevalent in consumer-related industries than in other industries. Building on the identified determinants of greenwashing behavior, we develop machine learning models grounded in economic theory to forecast greenwashing risk. Overall, our analyses demonstrate how current and future greenwashing risks can be effectively assessed. This enables stakeholders such as investors and policymakers to better identify corporate greenwashing behavior and incorporate the associated risks into their decision-making.
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Details
| Item type | Article | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title | Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization | ||||
| Publisher: | Elsevier | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open Access Type: | DEAL (Elsevier) | ||||
| Volume: | 241 | ||||
| Page Range: | p. 107354 | ||||
| Date | 4 December 2025 | ||||
| Institutions | Business, Economics and Information Systems > Institut für Betriebswirtschaftslehre Business, Economics and Information Systems > Institut für Betriebswirtschaftslehre > Lehrstuhl für Finanzierung (Prof. Dr. Gregor Dorfleitner) | ||||
| Identification Number |
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| Keywords | Greenwashing, ESG scores, Corporate misconduct, Risk management, Forecasting, Machine learning, Information asymmetry | ||||
| Dewey Decimal Classification | 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics | ||||
| Status | Published | ||||
| Refereed | Yes, this version has been refereed | ||||
| Created at the University of Regensburg | Partially | ||||
| URN of the UB Regensburg | urn:nbn:de:bvb:355-epub-782988 | ||||
| Item ID | 78298 |
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