Greenwashing and CEO Integrity

Year: 2023

Type: Journal Publication

Journal: Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly

Abstract

CEO integrity influences greenwashing—voluntary environmental disclosures that do not reflect actual performance. While a strong green reputation benefits firms, misleading disclosures can harm a CEO’s credibility. Low-integrity CEOs are more likely to engage in greenwashing, while high-integrity CEOs avoid reputational risks. Investors and ESG analysts consider CEO integrity when assessing disclosures, impacting stock returns and ESG ratings. CEO integrity may help explain ESG rating divergence.

Publication Information

TRR 266 researchers

Christian Hofmann LMU Munich

Christian Hofmann is Professor for Accounting and Control at Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) of Munich. His research focus is on the usefulness of accounting information in capital markets and for performance evaluation. His current work concentrates on the incentives in hierarchies and dynamic incentives. He is editor of the Journal of Business Economics and the Journal of Management Accounting Research, for which he is also responsible as editorial board member. His research has been published in several leading journals such as the Accounting Review and the Contemporary Accounting Research.

External researchers

Rafael Zacherl

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Cite this article as

Hofmann, C., & Zacherl, R. (2023). Greenwashing and CEO Integrity. Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly, (3), 92-97.

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Participating Institutions

TRR 266‘s main locations are Paderborn University (Coordinating University), HU Berlin, and University of Mannheim. All three locations have been centers for accounting and tax research for many years. They are joined by researchers from LMU Munich, Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Cologne and Leibniz University Hannover who share the same research agenda.