This paper fills the gap in the study of the impact of Chinese companies' environmental performance (EP) on greenwashing based on the listed companies in China from 2010 to 2018. The relationship between EP and greenwashing is analyzed based on legitimacy theory and signal theory. From the empirical analysis, it is found that there exists a negative correlation between EP and greenwashing which supports the signal theory. Based on resource-based theory analysis, the impacts of environmental subsidies and political connections on the relationship between environmental performance and greenwashing are also analyzed. EP of enterprises receiving environmental protection subsidy has a greater inhibition effect on greenwashing. The negative effect of EP on greenwashing of state-owned enterprises is bigger than that of non-state-owned enterprises. This study can provide reference for government departments in deepening the reform of government environmental subsidies and environmental governance of state-owned enterprises.

No abstract

Background: The goal of “peak carbon and carbon neutrality” has pointed out the direction for the digital transformation (DIT) of enterprises. Companies need to pay a price when they seek green development or fulfill environmental responsibility. Out of self-interest, enterprises may exaggerate their environmental performance (EP) and then greenwashing behavior appears. Whether DIT can curb greenwashing behavior is a topic worth discussing.Objective: This paper proposes a theoretical framework for the influence of DIT on greenwashing and further discusses how government subsidies, resource slack, and external pressure affect them. The data of China’s listed A - share companies are used to test this theoretical framework.Methods: In this paper, multiple linear regression method is used to test the theoretical mechanism, and Hausman test and instrumental variable method are used to test the correctness of the conclusions.Results: (1) DIT has an inhibitory effect on greenwashing. (2) Government subsidies, resource slack, and public pressure positively moderate the relationship. (3) The effect of DIT does inhibit symbolic behavior, but the impact on substantive behavior is not obvious. The moderating effects of various variables are also different.Discussion: It is suggested that the government take the lead in building more digital public participation platforms to improve the online monitoring and early warning ability of enterprises’ greenwashing behavior, tourge enterprises to configure more intelligent and digital cleaner production equipment and facilities, and to improve their environmental performance. Local governments are encouraged to seize the trend of enterprises’ digital green transformation, introduce more government subsidy policies for DIT, improve digital infrastructure and digital intellectual property protection, and escort enterprises’ green DIT. The government and the banks should cooperate to give more green preferential loans, tax relief, and other measures to enterprises undergoing green DIT.

Based on the legitimacy theory, A-share-listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2007 to 2018 are taken as the research sample. This paper explores the internal mechanism of how internationalization degree affects the greenwashing behavior of Chinese multinational enterprises, and tests the moderating mechanism of legitimacy pressures from the home country. The findings are as follows: First, under the background of internationalization, enterprises are more inclined to greenwash, and this tendency is more obvious with the increase in internationalization degree. Second, in the full sample analysis, the moderating effects of environmental regulation, public pressure, and industry pressure are not statistically significant. Third, the moderating effect of legitimacy pressures varies due to the heterogeneity of regions and property rights of the enterprises. The statistical significance of the moderating effect is affected by the diversity of environmental regulation measures, but it can be roughly concluded that the eastern and western regions show a negative moderating effect, and the central region shows a positive moderating effect. The current moderating effect of public pressure is much stronger than the lagging moderating effect, and it shows obvious regional and property rights differences. The moderating effect of industry pressure also shows obvious regional and property rights differences.