Journal
JOURNAL OF BUSINESS ETHICS
Volume 118, Issue 4, Pages 747-757Publisher
SPRINGER
DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1958-x
Keywords
Corporate social responsibility; Decoupling; Greenwash; Information disclosure; Legitimacy; Social media
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We theorize that social media will reduce the incidence of corporate greenwash. Drawing on the management literature on decoupling and the economic literature on information disclosure, we characterize specifically where this effect is likely to be most pronounced. We identify important differences between social media and traditional media, and present a theoretical framework for understanding greenwash in which corporate environmental communications may backfire if citizens and activists feel a company is engaging in excessive self-promotion. The framework allows us to draw out a series of propositions regarding the impact of social media on corporate decisions whether to greenwash, and what channels to use for environmental communication. We conclude with a number of suggestions for future research.
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