How digital government influences corporate greenwashing

Abstract

Amid growing sustainability concerns, corporate environmental disclosure has gained stakeholder attention. However, information opacity enables greenwashing. Integrating signaling and institutional theory with information economics and regulatory capacity perspectives, this study examines the influence of digital government (DG) on decoupling-based corporate greenwashing. Using a panel dataset of Chinese listed firms and provincial governments from 2015 to 2022 and employing a fixed-effects panel regression model, we find that DG significantly reduces corporate greenwashing. The effect is statistically significant and economically meaningful: a one standard deviation increase in DG is associated with a 27% reduction in corporate greenwashing relative to the sample mean. These findings remain robust to variable substitution, model re-estimation, and exogenous event analyses. Mechanism analysis reveals that DG reduces greenwashing by alleviating information asymmetry and enhancing regulatory efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis shows stronger effects in heavily polluting or highly competitive industries, and for firms with high tax burdens. The study provides new evidence on reducing greenwashing from the perspective of government digitalization and extends the analytical scope from individual technology applications to overall DG development. Finally, we suggest that promoting DG development will strengthen modern environmental governance to support environmental sustainability.