Top management team characteristics, technological innovation and firm's greenwashing: Evidence from China's heavy-polluting industries

Abstract

Greenwashing has become an important strategy for firms to cope with the huge pressure brought by environmental sustainability and win environmental legitimacy. Based on the upper echelon theory and legitimacy theory, this study uses the grounded theory research method to develop the scale of firm's degree of greenwashing specialized with Chinese characteristics, and empirically tests the relationships among top management team (TMT) characteristics, technological innovation, and firm's greenwashing. The results show that TMT education level has a significantly negative effect on firm's greenwashing, while TMT functional background diversity has a significantly positive effect on firm's greenwashing. Technological innovation has a significantly negative impact on firm's greenwashing, and significantly moderates the relationships between TMT age and firm's greenwashing and between TMT functional background diversity and firm's greenwashing, respectively. Our findings provide references for managers and policy makers to understand the influence of TMT characteristics on firm's greenwashing as well as the effective weakening effect of technological innovation on firm's greenwashing.