Celebrity leaders and corporate greenwashing

Purpose This study aims to elucidate the causal relationship between corporate greenwashing and celebrity leaders. Design/methodology/approach This study considers winning the National Model Worker Award as an external shock for producing celebrity leaders and conducts a difference-in-difference (DID) estimation with listed companies from 2009 to 2022 in the Chinese context. Findings The findings indicate an increase in greenwashing of companies with celebrity leaders in the post-award period. Stakeholder pressure can moderate the effect of celebrity leaders on corporate greenwashing. Originality/value This study enriches the research on the antecedents of greenwashing and the impacts of celebrity leaders. The findings advance the understanding of the real effect of celebrity leaders on environmental, social and governance (ESG) efforts and provide new insights into how celebrities respond to legitimacy pressures.