What drives stock market reactions to greenwashing? An event study of European companies

Dorfleitner, Gregor and Eckberg, Jens and Utz, Sebastian and Brehm, Teresa (2025) What drives stock market reactions to greenwashing? An event study of European companies. FINANCE RESEARCH LETTERS, 86 (Part F): 108795. ISSN 1544-6123, 1544-6131

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Abstract

This study examines stock market reactions in response to 296 greenwashing events involving STOXX Europe 600 companies. The results indicate that companies with the lowest total assets in our sample experience negative cumulative abnormal returns. Financially material cases, which are likely to affect company performance through legal and investor-related consequences, also lead to negative market reactions. Compliance-related allegations trigger the most consistent negative market reactions compared to other types of allegations. We also find evidence of moderating effects, with ESG reputation shaping the extent of market reactions. The findings highlight that market reactions to greenwashing are highly context-dependent, reflecting company size, industry, ESG scores, and the characteristics of the allegation.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: CORPORATE SOCIAL-RESPONSIBILITY; PERFORMANCE; Greenwashing; Stock market; Event study; Financial performance; Cumulative average abnormal returns
Subjects: 300 Social sciences > 330 Economics
Divisions: Business, Economics and Information Systems > Institut für Betriebswirtschaftslehre > Lehrstuhl für Finanzierung (Prof. Dr. Gregor Dorfleitner)
Depositing User: Dr. Gernot Deinzer
Date Deposited: 07 May 2026 06:50
Last Modified: 07 May 2026 06:50
URI: https://pred.uni-regensburg.de/id/eprint/66507

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