Zhang Zhenbo, Zheng Xinran, Lv Qiuting, Meng Xiaohua
School of Public Administration, Nanjing Audit University, 86 West Yushan Road, Nanjing, 211815, PR China.
Center for Chinese Urbanization Studies, Collaborative Innovation Center for New Urbanization and Social Governance, Soochow University, 199 Renai Road, Suzhou, 215006, PR China.
J Environ Manage. 2025 Jan;373:123914. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123914. Epub 2024 Dec 27.
In this study, we investigate the impacts of three institutional pressures on corporate greenwashing strategies, with a special focus on the regulative, normative, and cognitive pressures stemming respectively from governmental supervision, media coverage, and ESG rating divergence. We further examine the moderating effects that campaign-style environmental enforcement has on these impacts - specifically, the effects of the top-down intervention facilitated by the central environmental protection inspection mechanism. Our empirical analyses provide robust evidence to substantiate the constraining effects of various institutional pressures on greenwashing. Our additional analyses demonstrate that campaign-style environmental enforcement positively moderates the negative relationship between institutional pressures and corporate engagement in greenwashing. Furthermore, our findings support arguments concerning institutional isomorphism in greenwashing, which is particularly strengthened by the authoritative top-down interventions and effective constraints imposed on companies through campaign-style environmental enforcement. Implications for theoretical and policy development and future research are discussed.
在本研究中，我们考察了三种制度压力对企业漂绿策略的影响，特别关注分别源于政府监管、媒体报道和ESG评级差异的规制压力、规范压力和认知压力。我们进一步考察了运动式环境执法对这些影响的调节作用——具体而言，是中央环境保护督察机制促成的自上而下干预的效果。我们的实证分析提供了有力证据，证实了各种制度压力对漂绿行为的约束作用。我们的额外分析表明，运动式环境执法正向调节制度压力与企业漂绿行为之间的负相关关系。此外，我们的研究结果支持了关于漂绿行为中制度同构的观点，通过运动式环境执法对企业实施的权威性自上而下干预和有效约束尤其强化了这一同构现象。我们还讨论了本研究对理论和政策发展以及未来研究的启示。
