IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v93y2024ics1057521924001571.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

To be green or not to be: How governmental regulation shapes financial institutions' greenwashing behaviors in green finance

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Changyu
  • Wang, Jing
  • Ji, Qiang
  • Zhang, Dayong

Abstract

Green finance provides important economic support for environmental protection and carbon reduction. However, some financial institutions engage in greenwashing behaviors (GWBs), which raise funds through green finance products (GFPs) without investing in green projects and falsely disclosing environmental information. The GWBs of financial institutions result in tremendous pressure on governmental regulation. From the perspective of information disclosure, under incomplete information, we constructed a signaling game between governments and financial institutions to explore the formation mechanism of financial institutions' GWBs. Subsequently, the separating equilibrium, pooling equilibrium, and hybrid equilibrium are investigated. The corresponding conditions for financial institutions choosing positive information disclosure were derived. We also evaluated the effects of different regulatory measures, including rewards, penalties, standards, and certifications on curbing GWBs. Finally, countermeasures to shape financial institutions to undertake their environmental responsibilities and conduct positive information disclosure are proposed. This study provides a theoretical explanation for GWBs and sheds new light on an effective governance model in green finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Changyu & Wang, Jing & Ji, Qiang & Zhang, Dayong, 2024. "To be green or not to be: How governmental regulation shapes financial institutions' greenwashing behaviors in green finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s1057521924001571
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103225
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521924001571
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103225?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Xiuli & Lai, Chenghao & Li, Hengkai & Zhang, Zheyuan, 2023. "A tripartite game analysis of public participation in environmental regulation of ionic rare earth mining areas," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Wang, Yadong & Wang, Delu & Shi, Xunpeng, 2021. "Exploring the dilemma of overcapacity governance in China's coal industry: A tripartite evolutionary game model," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. He, Feng & Ding, Cong & Yue, Wei & Liu, Guanchun, 2023. "ESG performance and corporate risk-taking: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    4. Galeotti, Marcello & Rabitti, Giovanni & Vannucci, Emanuele, 2020. "An evolutionary approach to fraud management," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 284(3), pages 1167-1177.
    5. Habib, Ahsan & Jiang, Haiyan, 2015. "Corporate governance and financial reporting quality in China: A survey of recent evidence," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 29-45.
    6. Wang, Juxian & Ma, Mengdi & Dong, Tianyi & Zhang, Zheyuan, 2023. "Do ESG ratings promote corporate green innovation? A quasi-natural experiment based on SynTao Green Finance's ESG ratings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    7. Guo, Kun & Liu, Fengqi & Sun, Xiaolei & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang, 2023. "Predicting natural gas futures’ volatility using climate risks," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PA).
    8. Xing, Xiaoyun & Guo, Kun & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "On the interactive effects of climate policies: Insights from a stock-flow consistent model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 358(C).
    9. Jankovic, Irena & Vasic, Vladimir & Kovacevic, Vlado, 2022. "Does transparency matter? Evidence from panel analysis of the EU government green bonds," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    10. Xu, Yong & Li, Shanshan & Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Shahzad, Umer & Zhao, Xin, 2022. "How environmental regulations affect the development of green finance: Recent evidence from polluting firms in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 917-926.
    11. Yang, Dong-xiao & Chen, Zi-yue & Yang, Yong-cong & Nie, Pu-yan, 2019. "Green financial policies and capital flows," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 522(C), pages 135-146.
    12. Liu, Changyu & Song, Yadong & Wang, Wei & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "The governance of manufacturers’ greenwashing behaviors: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis of electric vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    13. Ji, Qiang & Zhang, Dayong, 2019. "How much does financial development contribute to renewable energy growth and upgrading of energy structure in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 114-124.
    14. Liu, Guangqiang & Guo, Liangju, 2023. "How does mandatory environmental regulation affect corporate environmental information disclosure quality," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    15. Xiang, Xiaojian & Liu, Chuanjiang & Yang, Mian, 2022. "Who is financing corporate green innovation?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 321-337.
    16. Dayong Zhang & Kun Guo & Qiang Ji, 2024. "Resolve climate-policy uncertainties in the US and China," Nature, Nature, vol. 625(7996), pages 663-663, January.
    17. Xu, Li & Zhang, Qin & Shi, Xunpeng, 2019. "Stakeholders strategies in poverty alleviation and clean energy access: A case study of China's PV poverty alleviation program," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    18. Yu, Chin-Hsien & Wu, Xiuqin & Zhang, Dayong & Chen, Shi & Zhao, Jinsong, 2021. "Demand for green finance: Resolving financing constraints on green innovation in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    19. Shi, Xianwang & Ma, Jianteng & Jiang, Anxuan & Wei, Shuang & Yue, Leilei, 2023. "Green bonds: Green investments or greenwashing?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Vardanyan, Michael, 2023. "The role of green financing in facilitating renewable energy transition in China: Perspectives from energy governance, environmental regulation, and market reforms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    21. Baldi, Francesco & Pandimiglio, Alessandro, 2022. "The role of ESG scoring and greenwashing risk in explaining the yields of green bonds: A conceptual framework and an econometric analysis," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    22. Polzin, Friedemann & Sanders, Mark, 2020. "How to finance the transition to low-carbon energy in Europe?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    23. Guo, Kun & Bian, Yuan & Zhang, Dayong & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "ESG performance and corporate external financing in China: The role of rating disagreement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    24. Hilscher, Jens & Landskroner, Yoram & Raviv, Alon, 2021. "Optimal regulation, executive compensation and risk taking by financial institutions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    25. Rudkin, Wanling & Cai, Charlie X., 2023. "Information content of sustainability index recomposition: A synthetic portfolio approach," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    26. Ho, Kelvin & Wong, Andrew, 2023. "Effect of climate-related risk on the costs of bank loans: Evidence from syndicated loan markets in emerging economies," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(C).
    27. Zhao, Xin & Mahendru, Mandeep & Ma, Xiaowei & Rao, Amar & Shang, Yuping, 2022. "Impacts of environmental regulations on green economic growth in China: New guidelines regarding renewable energy and energy efficiency," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 728-742.
    28. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Green financial system regulation shock and greenwashing behaviors: Evidence from Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    29. Zhang, Dayong & Zhang, Zhiwei & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "A bibliometric analysis on green finance: Current status, development, and future directions," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 425-430.
    30. Henide, Karim, 2022. "Voluntary disclosure and adverse selection: Bayesian game theoretical inference for green bond labelling regimes," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    31. Chevallier, Julien & Goutte, Stéphane & Ji, Qiang & Guesmi, Khaled, 2021. "Green finance and the restructuring of the oil-gas-coal business model under carbon asset stranding constraints," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Li, Yunqian & Xiao, Jun, 2025. "The effect of institutional investors’ site visits on corporate greenwashing behavior," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    2. Liu, Changyu & Sun, Jia & Zheng, Luhang & Zhu, Renkui, 2025. "Combating the rent-seeking among enterprises in China's emissions trading system," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Mohapatra, Swati & Kumar, Ashish & Mohapatra, Malaya Ranjan & Srivastava, Vikas, 2025. "Does CEO duality moderate environmental, social, and governance performance-earnings management relationship? Evidence from emerging markets," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Lagasio, Valentina, 2024. "ESG-washing detection in corporate sustainability reports," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Changyu & Gong, Wanrong & Dong, Guanglong & Ji, Qiang, 2024. "Regulation of environmental, social and governance disclosure greenwashing behaviors considering the risk preference of enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    2. Yang, Minhua & Ma, Linkun & Gu, Yan & Wu, Wenfeng, 2025. "The impacts of green bonds on the green innovation: Evidence from the corporate green transformation in China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Jie Han & Wei Zhang & Cem Işık & Wenju Zhao & Muhammad Anas & Qinglan Zheng & Danxi Xie & Satar Bakhsh, 2024. "Sustainable development pathways: Exploring the impact of green finance on urban metabolic efficiency," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 7226-7245, December.
    4. Satar Bakhsh & Md Shabbir Alam & Wei Zhang, 2024. "Green finance and Sustainable Development Goals: is there a role for geopolitical uncertainty?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1-30, August.
    5. Tianle Yang & Zhennan Sun & Min Du & Qunyang Du & Lei Li & Fatima Shuwaikh, 2025. "The impact of the degree of coupling coordination between green finance and environmental regulations on firms’ innovation performance: evidence from China," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 347(1), pages 173-195, April.
    6. Yan, Kai & Zhang, Ziyi & Yang, Lisi & Cao, Yuqiang & Shan, Yaowen, 2024. "Capital generates green: Evidence from China's national innovation system policy," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    7. Meng, Li & Su, Taoyong & Zhang, Jintao, 2024. "Environmental performance shortfalls and corporate green innovation: The role of green credit regulation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    8. Lian, Yonghui & Yang, Zixin & Cao, Hong, 2025. "Does ESG performance affect trade credit financing? Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Wang, Yao, 2025. "Greenwashing or green evolution: Can transition finance empower green innovation in carbon-intensive enterprise?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    10. Wenqing Zhang & Jingrong Dong, 2023. "The Polarization Effect and Mechanism of China’s Green Finance Policy on Green Technology Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-26, June.
    11. Tang, Xinmeng & Zhou, Xiaoguang, 2023. "Impact of green finance on renewable energy development: A spatiotemporal consistency perspective," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 320-337.
    12. Li, Lu & Zhou, Shiqi & Xu, Wei & Dai, Jiapeng, 2024. "Green innovation's impact on corporate financing: New insights from BRICS economies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    13. Qihang Xue & Huimin Wang & Caiquan Bai, 2023. "Local green finance policies and corporate ESG performance," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 23(4), pages 721-749, December.
    14. Zhang, Dongyang & Wang, Cao & Miao, Shan & Deng, Lei, 2024. "The impact of firm's ESG performance on the skill premium: Evidence from China's green finance reform pilot zone," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    15. Bie, Fan & Zhou, Luyao & Liu, Shuo & Yang, Tao, 2024. "Government digital transformation, resource curse and green total factor energy efficiency in Chinese cities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Qadri, Hussain Mohi ud Din & Ali, Hassnian & Abideen, Zain ul & Jafar, Ahmad, 2024. "Mapping the Evolution of Green Finance Research and Development in Emerging Green Economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    17. Liu, Changyu & Song, Yadong & Wang, Wei & Shi, Xunpeng, 2023. "The governance of manufacturers’ greenwashing behaviors: A tripartite evolutionary game analysis of electric vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 333(C).
    18. Bai, Rui & Lin, Boqiang, 2023. "Nexus between green finance development and green technological innovation: A potential way to achieve the renewable energy transition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    19. Xu, Yong & Li, Shanshan & Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Shahzad, Umer & Zhao, Xin, 2022. "How environmental regulations affect the development of green finance: Recent evidence from polluting firms in China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 917-926.
    20. Shi, Xianwang & Ma, Jianteng & Jiang, Anxuan & Wei, Shuang & Yue, Leilei, 2023. "Green bonds: Green investments or greenwashing?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:93:y:2024:i:c:s1057521924001571. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.