From greenwashing to genuine action: Impact of a CEO's green experience

This study investigates the impact of a CEO's green experience on a firm's greenwashing behavior. Using manually collected data from the sample of Chinese public firms, we find that firms led by CEOs with green experience are less likely to engage in greenwashing. Additionally, these CEOs help their firms obtain additional green subsidies and attract more green investors. Cross-sectional results indicate that firms with weaker corporate governance, less rigorous environmental regulations, and larger earnings expectation gaps show a pronounced reduction in greenwashing. These findings suggest that a CEO's green experience drives the firms to adopt genuine environmentally responsible practices.