Does Greenwashing Pay Off? Understanding the Relationship Between Environmental Actions and Environmental Legitimacy
Journal of Business Ethics 144 (2):363-379 (2017)
| Abstract |
Do firms gain environmental legitimacy when they conform to external expectations regarding the natural environment? Drawing on institutional logic and signaling theory, we investigate sources of heterogeneity in the impacts of environmental actions on environmental legitimacy. Longitudinal data about 325 publicly traded U.S. firms in polluting industries support the notion that environmental actions help firms gain environmental legitimacy. However, some actions instead can harm this legitimacy if environmental performance deteriorates and the firm is subject to intense scrutiny from nongovernmental organizations. Thus, an important contribution of this research is to identify conditions under which greenwashing can backfire.
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| DOI | 10.1007/s10551-015-2816-9 |
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References found in this work BETA
Social Accountability and Corporate Greenwashing.William S. Laufer - 2003 - Journal of Business Ethics 43 (3):253 - 261.
Non-Governmental Organizations, Shareholder Activism, and Socially Responsible Investments: Ethical, Strategic, and Governance Implications. [REVIEW]Terrence Guay, Jonathan P. Doh & Graham Sinclair - 2004 - Journal of Business Ethics 52 (1):125-139.
The Contribution of Environmental and Social Standards Towards Ensuring Legitimacy in Supply Chain Governance.Martin Mueller, Virginia Gomes dos Santos & Stefan Seuring - 2009 - Journal of Business Ethics 89 (4):509-523.
The Governance of Corporate Sustainability: Empirical Insights Into the Development, Leadership and Implementation of Responsible Business Strategy.Alice Klettner, Thomas Clarke & Martijn Boersma - 2014 - Journal of Business Ethics 122 (1):1-21.
When Are Corporate Environmental Policies a Form of Greenwashing?Catherine A. Ramus & Ivan Montiel - 2005 - Business and Society 44 (4):377-414.
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Citations of this work BETA
Normativity in Environmental Reporting: A Comparison of Three Regimes.Mohamed Chelli, Sylvain Durocher & Anne Fortin - 2018 - Journal of Business Ethics 149 (2):285-311.
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Managing Carbon Aspirations: The Influence of Corporate Climate Change Targets on Environmental Performance.Stephen Brammer, Layla Branicki & Frederik Dahlmann - 2019 - Journal of Business Ethics 158 (1):1-24.
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