Assessing the Multifacetedness of Greenwashing: Implications for Consumers, Companies and Societies

AbstractPurpose. This paper systematically reviews the current literature on Greenwashing, aiming to organize existing knowledge on the phenomenon. The research investigates and categorizes the main sub-topics within the broader realm of greenwashing, providing deeper insights and suggesting areas for future research.Design/methodology/approach. Employing a qualitative design and Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) analysis, a systematic literature review has been conducted, analyzing a dataset of 1,846 original contributions.Findings. The analysis identified six sub-topics of greenwashing and three macro-categories: 1) Business-related effects, such as impacts on business credibility and brand; 2) Consumer-related effects, including implications for human rights and consumptions; and 3) Social-related effects, encompassing greenwashing regulation and its relationship with Corporate Social Responsibility. The study concludes by discussing implications for consumers, managers, and policymakers.Originality/value. Unlike previous systematic reviews of Greenwashing concept, this study focuses on establishing a comprehensive and holistic framework of the main aspects within this field of research, rather than analyzing just specific sub-elements.