ESG Greenwashing and Ownership Structure under Information Asymmetry
ESG Greenwashing and Ownership Structure under Information Asymmetry

Summary/Abstract: Purpose: This is the first paper to investigate how ownership structure influences ESG greenwashing, with a focus on the moderating role of information asymmetry. The study is set in Vietnam's stock market, where state ownership remains significant and disclosure standards are still developing. Design/Methodology/Approach: We construct a unique hand-collected dataset of annual reports from listed firms between 2020 and 2023. Greenwashing is measured using both disclosure-performance gaps and narrative-based textual analysis. Ordinary least squares and two-stage least squares regressions are employed, with robustness checks using alternative proxies for information asymmetry. Findings: Results show that in transparent environments, ownership variables do not significantly affect greenwashing. Under high information asymmetry, managerial ownership increases greenwashing, while state and institutional ownership reduce it. Additional tests confirm that the relationship is one-directional, with ownership shaping greenwashing but not vice versa. Correspondence address: To Chi Minh University of Banking, 36 Ton That Dam, Saigon, To Chi Minh City, Vietnam; University of Finance & Marketing, 354 Nguyen Huu, District 3, Ho Chi Minh 700000, Vietnam; e-mail address: tronhoangvu@tct.edu.vn; quanglthu@hub.edu.vn; yenndh@hub.edu.vn

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