The Green Hush: A foundational model of brownwashing and the impacts of greenwashing
通过对北美葡萄酒行业50多家企业的深度定性研究，揭示了企业为何及如何选择隐瞒其可持续发展成就（即绿色沉默），并发现漂绿行为会促使可持续企业撤回环保声明，进而构建了整合新旧机制的基础模型。
In the face of both increasing climate risks and growing market opportunities, numerous firms are rushing to trumpet their environmental and social achievements. Many firms are, however, seemingly paradoxically, choosing to minimize or withhold their sustainability accomplishments, an increasingly prominent phenomenon known as brownwashing or greenhushing. We draw on an in-depth qualitative study with over 50 firms in the North American wine industry to offer in situ insights on why and how firms engage in brownwashing. Our findings are a significant departure from prior research that has focused on brownwashing to mitigate negative stakeholder judgments. First, our findings reveal firms frequently engage in brownwashing driven by their own judgments of sustainability, specifically its constraints, branding, and community. Second, our analysis reveals the complex interaction between brownwashing and greenwashing and highlights how rampant greenwashing can cause sustainable firms to withdraw green claims, thus considerably advancing the literature on environmental communications. In short, firms are brownwashing because of rampant greenwashing by others. We then develop a foundational model to integrate previously established mechanisms (avoidance brownwashing) with our newly identified mechanisms (rejection brownwashing). As society seeks to engage firms in transparent reporting of sustainability to address grand challenges, our study offers timely theoretical and practical insights.