Correcting or Concealing? The Impact of Digital Transformation on the Greenwashing Behavior of Heavily Polluting Enterprises

Xiaohui Zhan, Xinrong Lian and Shengli Dai ()
Additional contact information
Xiaohui Zhan: International Business School, Jinan University, Zhuhai 519070, China
Xinrong Lian: International Business School, Jinan University, Zhuhai 519070, China
Shengli Dai: School of Public Administration and Emergency Management, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 1, 1-21

Abstract: Identifying and governing enterprises’ greenwashing behavior is important for achieving green and low-carbon development. This behavior can be governed via digital transformation. Based on data from listed companies from 2013 to 2021, this article examines the impact of the digital transformation of heavily polluting enterprises on their greenwashing behavior, with an empirical analysis revealing that it can significantly inhibit this behavior. A mechanism analysis indicates that the digital transformation of heavily polluting enterprises reduces greenwashing behavior by enhancing the level of enterprise green technological innovation and improving investor attention. A heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of enterprise digital transformation on greenwashing behavior is more significant among the private and highly competitive heavily polluting enterprises located in central China. The research conclusions of this article indicate that digital transformation is important for curbing enterprises’ greenwashing behavior and achieving green and sustainable development.

Keywords: enterprise digital transformation; greenwashing behavior; enterprise green technological innovation; investor attention; heavily polluting enterprises (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/356/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/1/356/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:1:p:356-:d:1560858

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().