Exploring the Knowledge Structure and Hotspot Evolution of Greenwashing: A Visual Analysis Based on Bibliometrics

Abstract

As environmental protection changes from a purely social benefit to a social benefit mixed with an economic gain, the marketing strategy practice of corporate greenwashing is starting to become a popular research topic. However, the total number of existing review articles on greenwashing research is relatively small, and there are deficiencies in quantitative research and generalizability, scientificity and systematization. This paper attempts to bridge these gaps by combining systems theory with bibliometrics and using visualization techniques to analyze the evolution of knowledge structures and hotspots in greenwashing. Based on this, this paper takes the literature on greenwashing in the Web of Science core set database from 2004–2022 as a research sample and uses CiteSpace 5.8.R3 to conduct a descriptive statistical analysis and carve a visual map to reveal the evolution pattern of research in the field of greenwashing in a comprehensive and systematic way. The findings show that greenwashing research is prevalent in developed countries and continues to attract more scholars globally, focusing on the interpretation of greenwashing definitions and concepts, influencing factors, consequences and governance models. Finally, this paper introduces the system governance theory and improves organizational isomorphism theory to further generalize the existing research framework on greenwashing and provides an outlook on the future direction of greenwashing research from three perspectives: greening screening research, impact research and governance research.