Episode Details

Welcome to Revise and Resubmit, the podcast where we unravel the complexities of cutting-edge academic research. Today, we’re stepping into the corporate world to talk about a pressing issue—greenwashing. You’ve probably seen companies boast about their environmental commitments, but have you ever wondered why those promises rarely lead to real results?

Today’s featured paper, Greenwashing or Striving to Persist: An Alternative Explanation of a Loose Coupling Between Corporate Environmental Commitments and Outcomes, by Robert Kudłak, published in the Journal of Business Ethics by Springer, offers a fresh perspective. Rather than just labeling companies as deceptive, Kudłak explores the concept of loose coupling—where different parts of a company function independently. This separation can explain why companies’ environmental promises don’t always match their outcomes. It’s not always intentional dishonesty; sometimes, it’s a structural issue, with different parts of the organization acting in fragmented ways.

As we dive into this intriguing idea, here’s the question: Are companies guilty of greenwashing, or is it their internal structure that’s holding them back from real change?

Before we begin, we’d like to thank Robert Kudłak and Springer for bringing this thought-provoking research to the forefront.

So, is greenwashing just a clever corporate tactic, or could the truth be more complicated? Let’s find out.

Reference

Kudłak, R. Greenwashing or Striving to Persist: An Alternative Explanation of a Loose Coupling Between Corporate Environmental Commitments and Outcomes. J Bus Ethics (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-024-05778-w