Media Attention and ESG Greenwashing : Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

We investigate the relationship between media attention and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) greenwashing using the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020. Our results show that media attention can inhibit corporate ESG greenwashing behavior. Moreover, this inhibiting effect is mainly caused by paper media and becomes more prominent in non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). The mediation analysis proves that media attention plays an important role in improving investor attention, thereby inhibiting corporate ESG greenwashing. The moderation analysis indicates that the effect of media attention on inhibiting ESG greenwashing is weakened in companies with more analyst following and higher quality of internal control. Our study provides a new view on the governance of ESG greenwashing in China