Li, X; Li, J; He, J; Huang, Y; Liu, X; Dai, J and Shen, Q (2024) What are the key factors of enterprises' greenwashing behaviors under multi-agent interaction? A grey-DEMATEL analysis from Chinese construction materials enterprises. Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, 31(11), pp. 4659-4676. ISSN 0969-9988
Abstract
Purpose: The surging market demand for green construction materials has brought opportunities for construction materials enterprises' greenwashing behavior (GWB). This study aims to establish the causal relationship among the influencing factors of GWB and reveal the key influencing factors from the perspective of Chinese construction materials enterprises under multi-agent interactions. Design/methodology/approach: This study is based on stakeholder theory, resource-based theory and the green development behavior and performance of industrial enterprises (GDBP-IE). First, with the literature analysis, an index framework of the influencing factors of enterprises' GWB was constructed from five dimensions (including 15 factors): environmental regulation, public scrutiny, market environment, corporate resources and corporate green development (GD) performance. Second, the interactive relationship among influencing factors was obtained by a questionnaire survey. Finally, the data are processed and analyzed with the grey-DEMATEL (Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory) method. Findings: Among the factors, corporate information transparency has the greatest impact on the other factors, and consumer green preferences are most influenced by others. The most critical and important factor is the corporate social performance factor. In China, corporate social performance, corporate information transparency, corporate size and media supervision are the key factors influencing the GWB of construction materials enterprises. Originality/value: This study provides a new perspective on the literature related to GWB by considering multi-agent interactions and extends the evidence from the construction materials industry for research on the drivers or influencing factors of enterprises' bad environmental behavior. Furthermore, it adds insights from China for further research on the governance strategies of GWB in other countries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | DEMATEL; green development; greenwashing behavior; multi-agent interaction; stakeholder; questionnaire survey |
| Index terms: | social performance, influencing factor, governance, construction material, media, environmental regulation, dimension, interaction, environmental behaviour, transparency, supervision, laboratory, strategy, resource-based theory, survey, methodology, decision-making, green development, evidence, questionnaire, preference, China, agent |
| Subjects: | behavioral psychology, research management, sustainable design, Geography, health safety and environment, decision-making and reasoning, research methods, practitioner, evaluation and assessment methods, sociology, decision analysis, professional development, management, health monitoring assessment and metrics, environmental behaviour, building materials, control systems, business, risk assessment, data collection methods |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Risk Management, Engineering Principles, Project Management, Geographical Context, Health and Safety, Governance, Roles and Professions, Information Management, Research Practice, Business Strategy |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here