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This review aims to put forth a conceptual understanding of greenwashing. It also identifies the antecedents and consequences of customer perceptions of greenwashing in the hospitality industry in the recent context, which has remained superficial and fragmented in previous studies.

Published literature between the years 2000 and 2022 was examined, following the scoping review approach. After screening out irrelevant and duplicate literature, a total of 54 published literature items were considered.

Despite a profound understanding of customer perceptions of greenwashing, the findings show that the majority of customer perceptions of greenwashing are determined by the green efforts of hotel operators, through means such as green knowledge sharing, green marketing, the disclosure of green information, resource conservation claims and environmental certification. Additionally, customer perceptions of greenwashing determine a variety of customer green behaviors where customer green attitude plays an intervening role.

A benefit of the proposed conceptual model for hospitality stakeholders is that it aids in understanding customer suspicion regarding the legitimacy of hotel green practices. The conceptual model of this review, and a 2 × 3 matrix on hotel environmental performance and communication, provides a theoretical lens for scholars and practitioners in the hospitality industry to develop effective green strategies and practices, reducing customer perceptions of greenwashing while positively influencing customer green behavior. This review presents a launching platform from which research on greenwashing in the hospitality industry can skyrocket.

In previous studies, the conceptual understanding of greenwashing in hospitality has remained inconsistent, shallow and mixed. This review identifies the different and previously deeply underexplored antecedents and consequences of customer perceptions of greenwashing and presents them in a conceptual model.

When a company practices greenwashing, it violates consumers' expectations by deliberately deceiving them about their environmental practices or the benefits of their products/services. This study investigated the effects of greenwashing on corporate reputation and brand hate. Furthermore, this study explored the mediating effects of perceived environmental performance and green perceived risk.

A survey design using cross-sectional primary data from 420 Portuguese consumers who identified and recognized brands engaged in greenwashing was employed. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling techniques.

This study's findings show that consumer perceptions of greenwashing may damage brands. The results show that greenwashing has a negative effect on corporate reputation through perceived environmental performance and green perceived risk. Additionally, greenwashing has a positive direct effect on brand hate and a negative effect on green perceived risk. Therefore, reducing greenwashing practices can improve consumers' perceptions of corporate environmental performance, buffer green perceived risk, and ultimately enhance corporate reputation. This can lead to positive relationships with customers.

Based on signaling and expectancy violation theories, this study develops a new framework highlighting the detrimental effects of greenwashing on brands. The combination of these theories provides the right framework to understand how greenwashing may lead to extreme feelings like brand hate and negative perceptions of corporate reputation, thus advancing the current research that lacks studies on the association between these constructs.

This study aims to demonstrate how greenwashing perceptions shape the effect of environmental concern on post-millennials purchasing behavior.

Based on 174 responses gathered through a street survey method from 5 different universities in Turkey, data are analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences software (SPSS 16.0). Principal component analysis is performed to assess the differentiation in factors. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine the effects of the items on the post-millennials purchasing and recommendation behavior.

The main findings revealed that the environmental concern trait of post-millennials triggers their green purchasing behavior. When the concern on green products is high, the awareness of perceiving that “if the product is actually green or pretending to be green” is high. When the post-millennials take the greenwashing perception into account, their environmental concern has lower effects on their green behavior. The moderating role of greenwashing between environmental concern and green purchasing is apparent. Greenwashing perception decreases the effects of environmental concern on green behavior.

The research raises the concept of greenwashing perception that moderates the relationship between environmental concern and post-millennials purchasing behavior. This study also demonstrates that greenwashing awareness has a critical role in creating a purchasing behavior of post-millennials that have environmental concerns.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of greenwashing behaviour of one brand on purchase intention of green products from other brands. Further, this study tests the mediating role of greenwashing perception of the entire industry and the moderating role of brand attitudes towards other brands in the industry for the above-mentioned relationship.

A sample of 377 participants was utilised in three studies. The study analysed the data using SPSS 18.0 to test the research hypotheses.

The study suggests that greenwashing behaviour of one brand negatively affects consumers’ purchase intention of the green products from other brands in the industry. It is also indicated that the greenwashing perception of the entire industry partially mediates the relationship between greenwashing behaviour of a brand and purchase intention of green products from other brands. In addition, the study shows that the relationship between greenwashing perception of the entire industry and purchase intention of the green products from other brands is negatively moderated by brand attitudes towards other brands in the industry.

This study provides useful insights for the managers that firms can learn the way to alleviate greenwashing spillover effect through the brand attitudes to enhance green purchasing behaviour.

The study is perhaps the first one to study the existence of the spillover effect of brands’greenwashing behaviour. The study also reveals the influencing mechanism of greenwashing spillover effect of a brand.

Based on social and moral identification theories, this investigation aims to analyse how corporate greenwashing impacts employees' organizational citizenship behaviours for the environment (OCBEs), both directly and through job satisfaction and affective commitment.

Data collected from a questionnaire administered to 398 Portuguese employees who recognized greenwashing practices in their employer firms was analysed using structural equation modelling techniques through AMOS.

The results show that greenwashing has destructive effects on job satisfaction, affective commitment and OCBEs. This means that in the presence of greenwashing, the work environment is impacted to such an extent that employees are less eager to give their best: their voluntary actions aimed at environmental improvement fade. Thus, greenwashing adversely affects OCBEs, both directly and through job satisfaction and affective commitment.

This study advances the human resources management literature by providing an improved insight into the harmful consequences of greenwashing on employees' emotions and, consequently, their voluntary engagement in environmental extra-role activities that are not directly related to their contractual duties.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the perception of the influence of greenwashing and of attitudes and beliefs in the decisions of purchase of green products in the retail.

A quantitative research was carried out by means of a survey with a sample of 880 consumers living in São Paulo city, Brazil, who buy in supermarkets weekly or biweekly.

It was possible to evaluate a model that analyzed the aspects that greenwashing carries and the aspects that the attitudes and beliefs of the consumer present. As a result, it is inferred that when greenwashing is identified in the product, it loses the aspects of loyalty, satisfaction and benefits, as well as becoming a product that causes confusion of consumption. Further, consumer attitudes and beliefs show that they are guided by the aspects of perceived loyalty, satisfaction and benefits and that the perceived risk aspect is practically ignored.

The originality of this study is in evaluating consumer perception focusing on several aspects of purchase intention simultaneously, considering perception and behavior of consumer before greenwashing and green consumption and using all aspects together (satisfaction, loyalty, subjective and control forces, risk and benefits perception). Besides complementing with other determinants like consumer attitudes and beliefs, confusion of green consumption, behavior controlled in relation to green consumption and greenwashing. Thus, it contributes with an interdisciplinary study whose scale and methodology can be used by analogous studies.

Celebrities communicating about environmental sustainability on social media have the power to inspire young adults to engage in pro-environmental behavior, such as reducing their consumption behavior or only buying local and organic food. However, at the same time, celebrities’ carbon-rich and luxurious lifestyles might generate skepticism when they preach about environmental action. Thus, this study aims to shed light on the effects of celebrity pro-environmental messages on young adults’ perceived authenticity and greenwashing and, subsequently, on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, this study examined the moderation effect of congruent (vs incongruent) messages in the celebrity’s social media profile depicting an environmentally friendly (vs unfriendly) lifestyle.

The authors conducted a 3 (celebrity pro-environmental messages: with concrete action claim vs without vs control group) x 2 (celebrity message-lifestyle congruence: congruent vs incongruent) between-subjects experimental study (N = 400) with young adults (16–26 years old).

Results showed a significant positive effect of celebrity pro-environmental messages with concrete green action claims on authenticity perceptions only when the social media profile depicted a congruent environmentally friendly lifestyle. Moreover, higher perceived authenticity of the celebrity by social media audiences led to a higher likelihood of young adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behavior.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider celebrity message characteristics and young adults’ perceptions of authenticity and greenwashing when investigating the effects of celebrity pro-environmental messages on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior.

Sustainable manufacturing practices are excessively being practised in the industry today. The impact on sustainability is ever more visible to the stakeholders because of faster and more efficient communication due to social media and the internet. This paper aims to study the impact of greenwashing by corporations and the stakeholders’ environmental concerns on consumers’ sustainable purchase behaviour.

The relationships between the impression of “greenwash”, sustainable purchasing behaviour, green word-of-mouth and green brand loyalty were investigated in this quantitative study. Participants who made up a representative sample filled out written surveys. The variables of interest were evaluated using scales that have undergone validation. Structural equation modelling was used in mediation analysis to investigate the mediating impacts of green word-of-mouth and green brand loyalty. The goal of the study was to offer empirical proof of how these factors affected consumers’ choices for sustainable products.

Analysis of the mediating relationship of perceived customer effectiveness in the relationship between environmental concern and sustainable purchase behaviour has been studied.

This study implicates that a company that primarily markets basic green and sustainable products or services must invest in informing people about environmental concerns and that by proper practices, a lot of the harm to the environment can be reduced.

Corporate greenwashing, also called false greening, has received much public attention recently. The unethical practices by the corporations, which previously majorly went unnoticed, have also recently gained a lot of visibility. This paper is one of the early attempts towards establishing the effect of corporate greenwashing on sustainable consumer behaviour.

This study investigates the impact of supplier greenwashing on client sustainability, focusing on environmental, social and economic dimensions. It also emphasizes the mediating roles of information sharing and green trust in this relationship. By applying signalling theory, the research aims to deepen our understanding of the repercussions of greenwashing in interfirm relationships and identify potential mitigating or amplifying factors.

A sample of 312 companies were analysed using a structural equation model implemented with Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS).

The study reveals that greenwashing negatively affects sustainability both directly and indirectly. Trust and information sharing emerge as crucial mediators in this dynamic, shedding light on the intricate interplay between greenwashing and sustainability.

This research contributes novelty by comprehensively examining the effects of supplier greenwashing practices on client sustainability within interfirm relationships. The application of signalling theory provides a nuanced understanding, highlighting the mediating roles of information sharing and green trust. The study adds valuable insights to the discourse on greenwashing, offering practical implications for businesses navigating sustainability challenges.

This study aims to examine the negative effects of excessive product packaging (EPP), greenwashing and green confusion on green brand equity (GBE). Furthermore, the moderating role of brand credibility in mitigating the negative effects of green marketing was investigated.

A within-subject experiment was conducted to evaluate excessive versus minimal product packaging to test the proposed hypotheses. Data analysis was performed with SmartPLS 3.3.3, which analyzed data from 206 consumers.

The results showed that EPP positively predicts greenwashing and green confusion. However, greenwashing has a negative impact on GBE. Brand credibility was also discovered to moderate the negative relationship between greenwashing and GBE, thereby reducing the negative effect of greenwashing.

The findings imply that marketing managers should understand the consumers’ concerns for the environment, making product and brand strategies that promote environmental protection and sustainability.

This study contributes to the green marketing literature by empirically validating the positive impacts of EPP on greenwashing and green confusion, as well as the negative influence of greenwashing on GBE. Furthermore, it reveals how brand credibility can reduce the harmful effects of greenwashing on GBE.

Examinamos los efectos negativos del embalaje excesivo de los productos, el “greenwashing” y la confusión verde sobre el valor de la marca verde. Además, se investigó el papel moderador de la credibilidad de la marca para mitigar los efectos negativos del marketing ecológico.

Se llevó a cabo un experimento intra-sujeto para evaluar el embalaje excesivo de los productos frente al mínimo envase posible, con el fin de comprobar las hipótesis propuestas. El análisis de los datos se realizó con SmartPLS 3.3.3, con una muestra de 206 consumidores.

Los resultados mostraron que el embalaje excesivo de los productos predice positivamente el greenwashing y la confusión ecológica. Sin embargo, el greenwashing tiene un impacto negativo en el valor de la marca verde. También se descubrió que la credibilidad de la marca modera la relación negativa entre el greenwashing y el valor de la marca verde, reduciendo así el efecto negativo del greenwashing.

Las conclusiones implican que los directores de marketing deben comprender las preocupaciones de los consumidores por el medio ambiente, elaborando estrategias de producto y de marca que promuevan la protección del medio ambiente y la sostenibilidad.

Este estudio contribuye a la bibliografía sobre el marketing ecológico al validar empíricamente los efectos positivos del embalaje excesivo de los productos sobre el greenwashing y la confusión ecológica, así como la influencia negativa del greenwashing sobre el valor de la marca ecológica. Además, revela cómo la credibilidad de la marca puede reducir los efectos perjudiciales del greenwashing sobre el valor de la marca verde.

我们研究了产品过度包装、洗绿和绿色混淆对绿色品牌资产的负面影响。此外, 我们还研究了品牌信誉在减轻绿色营销负面影响中的调节作用。

我们进行了一项受试者内实验, 以评估产品过度包装和最小包装, 从而检验所提出的假设。用SmartPLS 3.3.3进行数据分析, 该软件分析了206来自名消费者的数据。

结果显示, 过度的产品包装正向预测了洗绿和绿色混淆。然而, 洗绿对绿色品牌资产有负面的影响。品牌信誉也被发现可以调节洗绿和绿色品牌资产之间的负面关系, 从而减少洗绿的负面影响。

研究结果表明, 营销经理应该了解消费者对环境的关注, 制定促进环境保护和可持续发展的的产品和品牌战略。

本研究通过实证验证产品过度包装对洗绿和绿色混淆的积极影响, 以及洗绿对绿色品牌资产的负面影响, 为绿色营销文献做出了贡献。此外, 它还揭示了品牌信誉如何减少洗绿对绿色品牌资产的有害影响。

绿色营销, 洗绿, 绿色混淆, 品牌资产, 品牌信誉, 以及产品过度包装

文章类型： 研究型论文