Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions (original) (raw)
Since the first Earth Day in the 1970s, corporate environmental performance has increased dramatically, and cases of greenwashing have increased sharply. The term greenwash refers to a variety of different misleading communications that aim to form overly positive beliefs among stakeholders about a company's environmental practices. The growing number of corporate social responsibility claims, whether founded or not, creates difficulties for stakeholders in distinguishing between truly positive business performance and companies that only appear to embrace a model of sustainable development. In this context, through the lens of legitimacy and signalling theory, we intend to understand and assess the different influences that various types of misleading communications about environmental issues have on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and greenwashing. Stakeholder responses to an environmental scandal will also be assessed. The hypotheses tested through a four-for-two design experiment reveal that different levels of greenwashing have a significantly different influence on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and stakeholders' reactions to environmental scandals.
Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions / Torelli, R.; Balluchi, F.; Lazzini, A.. - In: BUSINESS STRATEGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT. - ISSN 0964-4733. - 29:2(2020), pp. 407-421. [10.1002/bse.2373]
Greenwashing and environmental communication: Effects on stakeholders' perceptions
Torelli R.;Balluchi F.;
2020
Abstract
Since the first Earth Day in the 1970s, corporate environmental performance has increased dramatically, and cases of greenwashing have increased sharply. The term greenwash refers to a variety of different misleading communications that aim to form overly positive beliefs among stakeholders about a company's environmental practices. The growing number of corporate social responsibility claims, whether founded or not, creates difficulties for stakeholders in distinguishing between truly positive business performance and companies that only appear to embrace a model of sustainable development. In this context, through the lens of legitimacy and signalling theory, we intend to understand and assess the different influences that various types of misleading communications about environmental issues have on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and greenwashing. Stakeholder responses to an environmental scandal will also be assessed. The hypotheses tested through a four-for-two design experiment reveal that different levels of greenwashing have a significantly different influence on stakeholders' perceptions of corporate environmental responsibility and stakeholders' reactions to environmental scandals.
| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRE PRINT_Greenwashing and Environmental Communication.pdfOpen access Tipologia: AO - Versione originale dell'autore proposta per la pubblicazione Dimensione 411.71 kB Formato Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri | 411.71 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri |
| Bus Strat Env - 2019 - Torelli - Greenwashing and environmental communication Effects on stakeholders perceptions.pdfAccesso riservato Tipologia: VOR - Versione pubblicata dall'editore Dimensione 893.18 kB Formato Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia | 893.18 kB | Adobe PDF | Visualizza/Apri Richiedi una copia |
Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11380/1197669
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