Publicação
Consequences of greenwashing: a systematic literature review
| Resumo: | Greenwashing is reflected in the green marketing strategies that companies and organizations frequently use to increase their competitive advantage and turnover by attracting ecologically conscious consumers. It occurs when the conduct of greenwashers does not align with the information they disclose about their environmental performance. In this context, the main objective of this research was to analyze the consequences of greenwashing practices. To achieve this objective, a systematic literature review was conducted in the Scopus database on August 21, 2023, using defined criteria and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Based on the established selection criteria, 15 documents were analyzed. Most of the analyzed manuscripts were articles, grouped into 9 distinct thematic areas, underscoring the multidisciplinary nature of the greenwashing phenomenon. The results obtained enabled the identification of the consequences of greenwashing practices, with impacts on consumers, investors, cooperating companies, owners/shareholders, and society. Specifically, greenwashing increases confusion and misinformation, fosters consumer skepticism, influences purchase intentions, affects the company's profitability, and can cause significant ethical damage, manipulates society's values towards consumerism, promoting waste, harms consumers' well-being and society’s interests, undermines the credibility of companies and organizations, hinders sustainable purchasing behavior, and leads to a loss of consumer confidence. |
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| Autores principais: | Ribeiro, Maria Isabel |
| Outros Autores: | Fernandes, António Pedro Ribeiro; Fernandes, Ana Isabel Ribeiro; Lopes, Isabel Maria; Fernandes, António |
| Assunto: | Companies Greenwashing practices Misleading publicity Sustainability |
| Ano: | 2026 |
| País: | Portugal |
| Tipo de documento: | comunicação em conferência |
| Tipo de acesso: | acesso aberto |
| Instituição associada: | Universidade Politécnica de Bragança |
| Idioma: | inglês |
| Origem: | Biblioteca Digital da UPB |
| Resumo: | Greenwashing is reflected in the green marketing strategies that companies and organizations frequently use to increase their competitive advantage and turnover by attracting ecologically conscious consumers. It occurs when the conduct of greenwashers does not align with the information they disclose about their environmental performance. In this context, the main objective of this research was to analyze the consequences of greenwashing practices. To achieve this objective, a systematic literature review was conducted in the Scopus database on August 21, 2023, using defined criteria and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. Based on the established selection criteria, 15 documents were analyzed. Most of the analyzed manuscripts were articles, grouped into 9 distinct thematic areas, underscoring the multidisciplinary nature of the greenwashing phenomenon. The results obtained enabled the identification of the consequences of greenwashing practices, with impacts on consumers, investors, cooperating companies, owners/shareholders, and society. Specifically, greenwashing increases confusion and misinformation, fosters consumer skepticism, influences purchase intentions, affects the company's profitability, and can cause significant ethical damage, manipulates society's values towards consumerism, promoting waste, harms consumers' well-being and society’s interests, undermines the credibility of companies and organizations, hinders sustainable purchasing behavior, and leads to a loss of consumer confidence. |
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