Greenwashing in the Shadow of Customer Concentration: A Stakeholder Perspective

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between customer concentration and greenwashing and further examines how internal governance mechanism (sustainability committees), interorganizational relationship (strategic alliances), and external institutional force (analyst coverage) moderate this relationship. Based on a sample of U.S. publicly traded manufacturing firms, this research reveals that higher customer concentration leads to increased greenwashing in supplier firms. The moderating factors further amplify this main effect. This study integrates theories of stakeholder influence, supply chain governance, and symbolic compliance and contributes to engineering management literature by elucidating how structural dependencies and reputational pressures shape environmental disclosure practices in business-to-business (i.e., buyer-supplier) contexts.