FinTech Adoption and Corporate Greenwashing: A Technology Affordance Perspective

Affordance theory suggests that technology offers certain opportunities or ‘affordances’ that can be exploited by users. In this context, we are exploring how FinTech adoption provides opportunities to address corporate greenwashing. Drawing on an affordance perspective, we assert that FinTech adoption effectively inhibits corporate greenwashing behaviour, primarily through facilitating green innovation and improving managerial efficiency. We also contend that the impact of FinTech adoption on reducing greenwashing behaviour is not uniform across all industries. It is more pronounced in heavy-polluting industries, indicating that FinTech has a greater effect in encouraging accurate disclosure of environmental information in environmentally sensitive sectors. Conversely, its impact is weaker in high-tech industries, which might already have strong environmental commitments. The findings contribute to the literature on sustainability, FinTech and governance.