Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 9, 2025
08:27
Applying an eMASS Customization Program as a Research Tool to Evaluate Consumer Benefits
Published on: September 27, 2019
7.0K
Customer digitalization and supplier greenwashing.
1School of Economics, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, 21 Luntou Road, Guangzhou, 510320, PR China.
Journal of Environmental Management
|August 30, 2025
Summary
Customer digitalization significantly reduces upstream supplier greenwashing. This digital transformation enhances environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure and promotes green innovation, leading to more sustainable supply chains.
Area of Science:
- Business and Management
- Supply Chain Management
- Sustainability Studies
Background:
- Growing concerns regarding greenwashing practices.
- Increasing demand for sustainable and transparent supply chains.
- Need to understand the impact of digitalization on corporate environmental behavior.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of customer firms' digital transformation on upstream suppliers' greenwashing behavior.
- To identify the mechanisms through which digitalization affects greenwashing.
- To explore moderating factors influencing this relationship.
Main Methods:
- Empirical analysis using a Chinese sample from 2012 to 2022.
- Econometric methods to address endogeneity concerns.
- Robustness checks to validate findings.
Main Results:
- Customer digitalization effectively reduces suppliers' greenwashing.
- Digital transformation enhances voluntary ESG disclosure and collaborative green innovation.
- Customer-driven reputational pressure intensifies as a result of digitalization.
- The effect is more pronounced for suppliers with high customer dependency and low bargaining power, and for state-owned enterprise (SOE) customers under strict environmental regulations.
Conclusions:
- Customer digitalization serves as a novel governance mechanism to curb upstream greenwashing.
- Digital capabilities enhance accountability for sustainable practices across supply chains.
- Findings contribute to understanding digital transformation's role in promoting supply chain sustainability.
Related Concept Videos
01:31Confirmation Biases
7.2K
The confirmation bias is the tendency to focus on information that confirms our existing beliefs and ignore information that is inconsistent with our expectations. For example, if you think that your professor is not very nice, you notice all of the instances of rude behavior exhibited by the professor while ignoring the countless pleasant interactions he is involved in on a daily basis. Have you ever fallen prey to the confirmation bias, either as the source or target of such bias?
7.2K
02:16Stereotype Content Model
14.9K
The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) was first proposed by Susan Fiske and her colleagues (Fiske, Cuddy, Glick & Xu, 2002; see also Fiske, 2012 and Fiske, 2017). The SCM specifies that when someone encounters a new group, they will stereotype them based on two metrics: warmth—or that group’s perceived intent, and how likely they are to provide help or inflict harm—and competence—or their ability to carry out that objective. Depending on the warmth-competence...
14.9K
01:26Design Example: Sustainability in Concrete Building
225
As the construction industry moves towards more eco-friendly practices, concrete's adaptability and its ability to incorporate sustainable features make it a key material in the drive towards greener building solutions.
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
225