Unveiling the influence of corporate greenwashing on employees' pro-environmental behavior: A cross-cultural study from China, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, and Japan

Corporate greenwashing and pro-environmental behavior of employees have attracted a significant amount of research attention in journals related to corporate governance, green and sustainable development. However, limited research has currently investigated the relationship between the two, especially in today's globalized business environment. To fill this research gap, this study conducts a cross-cultural validation of connection between the two, covering four countries: China, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, and Japan. The study uses structural equation model and fsQCA methods for empirical analysis. The empirical results reveal that in China, United Kingdom, Republic of Korea, and Japan: (1) corporate greenwashing suppresses employees' pro-environmental behavior; (2) corporate greenwashing leads to employees developing perceptions of corporate hypocrisy, negative pro-environmental attitudes, and organizational cynicism; (3) corporate hypocrisy perception, negative pro-environmental attitude, and organizational cynicism lead to employees displaying negative pro-environmental behaviors; (4) corporate hypocrisy perception, negative pro-environmental attitude, and organizational cynicism significantly mediate the influence of corporate greenwashing on employees' pro-environmental behavior; (5) the mediating effects of these three variables do not significantly differ across the four countries; (6) the analysis results from the fsQCA method show that in China, there are 6 configurations leading to employees displaying significant (strong) negative pro-environmental behaviors, while in the United Kingdom there are 5, and in the Republic of Korea and Japan there are 3 and 5, respectively. This cross-cultural study offers insights for corporate management, aiding in understanding and mitigating the effects of greenwashing on employee pro-environmental behavior. It also bolsters the creation of efficacious corporate environmental practices policies and serves as a resource for future cross-cultural environmental preservation and corporate governance research.