From greenwashing to green B2B marketing: A systematic literature review

Abstract

This paper addresses the emergence of greenwashing and examines its implications for the development of green marketing strategies. It starts from the premise that companies face vigilant environmental activism when developing B2B marketing strategies, focusing on identifying discrepancies between intended marketing messages and actual practices, as well as an increasingly tightening regulatory environment. The core of the paper is a systematic review of interdisciplinary research on greenwashing in the B2B context with a focus on B2B marketing implications. In particular, this study contributes to a modern understanding of greenwashing by providing a new framework for the typology, drivers, and consequences of greenwashing. It also contrasts theories that help explain the greenwashing phenomenon through an interdisciplinary perspective. Finally, this study points out the gaps in existing research on this phenomenon and offers rich future research directions.