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Cited by 235Environmental Sustainability in BusinessCorporate Social Responsibility ReportingSustainable Supply Chain Management

A systematic literature review on greenwashing and its relationship to stakeholders: state of art and future research agenda

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Santos, Célia, Coelho, Arnaldo, Marques, Alzira·2024·Management Review Quarterly
DOI 10.1007/s11301-023-00337-5
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Abstract

The interest in greenwashing has grown in recent decades. However, comprehensive, and systematic research concentrating on the evolution of this phenomenon, specifically regarding its impacts on stakeholders, is still needed. The main purpose of this study is to provide an overview and synthesis of the existing body of knowledge on greenwashing, through a bibliometric study of articles published up to 2021, identifying the most relevant research in this field. Special attention is given to the latest articles that link greenwashing to stakeholders, identifying gaps and future research opportunities. A bibliometric analysis and literature review was performed on 310 documents obtained from the Web of Science database, using the VOSviewer software program. This article identifies the most influential aspects of greenwashing literature (authors, articles, journals, institutions, and keyword networks). The most recent articles on the effect of greenwashing on stakeholders were also analyzed, which made it possible to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for future research. These topics include greenwashing impacts on branding, consumer attitudes and intentions, mainly on purchase behavior, B2B relationships and the definition of taxonomy for greenwashing, considering the different practices. This study offers a thorough analysis on the state-of-the-art, as well as a closer look at the impacts of greenwashing on various stakeholders, providing a list of suggestions for future research.

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  • According to Vozár, the general and permanent validity of the general clause means that if there is no specific factual basis for a certain action that meets the characteristics of the general clause, or if a certain action does not meet the characteristics of one of the specific factual bases listed in Sections 45 to 52, it will be considered unfair competition and assessed according to Section 4

    “According to Vozár the general and permanent validity of the general clause means that if there is no specific factual basis for a certain action that meets the characteristics of a general general clause, or if a certain action does not meet the characteristics of one of the specific factual bases listed in Sections 45 to 52, it will be considered unfair competition and will be assessed according”

    From FROM MARKETING CLAIMS TO UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES: REGULATING GREENWASHING IN EU LAW (2026) · cites this paper as [12]

    Section 4.4 discusses the possible effects of regulating greenwashing, but does not address the legal rule attributed to Vozár. Searches for Vozár, the general clause, unfair competition, and Sections 45–52 found no passage in our copy explaining that rule. The retrieved passages have no page numbers. (LLM, conf=0.76)

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Authors
Santos, C., Coelho, A., & Marques, A.
Affiliations
  • University of Coimbra (PT)
  • Universidade de Leiria e Oeste (PT)
Corresponding author
Santos, Célia
ORCID
Venue
Management Review Quarterly
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2023-03-09
Volume
74
Issue
3
Pages
1397-1421
ISSN
  • 2198-1620 (ISSN-L)
  • 2198-1639
DOI
10.1007/s11301-023-00337-5
OpenAlex
W4360981260
Cited by
235
References
73
Citations by year
2026: 82 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 54 · 2023: 21
FWCI
10.74
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Management Review Quarterly (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology (RCAAP Project by FCT) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P (UI/BD/150962/2021, UIDB/04928/2020, UIDB/05037/2020)
  • Universidade de Coimbra
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Marketing › Environmental Sustainability in Business
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Keywords
greenwashing, stakeholder impact, consumer attitudes, purchase behavior, branding, B2B relationships, research gaps

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