Greenwashing in ESG Practices of Business Entities: Concept Evolution, Detection Patterns, and Research Agenda

Abstract

This study presents a systematic literature review of greenwashing within Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practices of business entities. The aim is to map the conceptual evolution of greenwashing in the ESG context, identify detection patterns used in empirical research, analyse the impact of ESG greenwashing on investor trust, firm value, and regulatory effectiveness, and formulate a future research agenda relevant to emerging-market contexts, particularly Indonesia. Following the PRISMA protocol, 35 articles published between 2020 and 2025 were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar and analysed using a multi-paradigm analytical framework that integrates functionalist and critical perspectives. The synthesis identifies six thematic clusters: detection and measurement of ESG greenwashing, divergence among ESG raters, governance and managerial behaviour, anti-greenwashing regulation, greenwashing in developing-country contexts, and financial and capital-market impacts. The review further maps six detection methods, identifies six research gaps, and proposes a four-cluster research agenda prioritised by urgency and contextual relevance to Indonesia. The findings indicate that ESG greenwashing is not merely an individual managerial deviation but a systemic consequence of structural vulnerabilities embedded in the ESG institutional architecture, including rating fragmentation, process-based measurement bias, and the absence of independent assurance mechanisms. Theoretical, methodological, and practical contributions are discussed, along with an integrative framework intended to guide future empirical research on corporate sustainability governance in emerging markets.