Digital Washing and Executives' Opportunistic Stock Reduction

ABSTRACT While greenwashing has been widely studied, research on digital washing remains in its nascent stage. Using data from Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2011 to 2022, we investigate whether digital washing affects executives' opportunistic stock reduction. The results indicate that digital washing significantly intensifies executives' opportunistic stock reduction. Further analysis reveals that stock price overvaluation and strategic digital innovation are the channels through which digital washing facilitates executives' opportunistic stock reduction. This effect is concentrated in non‐state‐owned enterprises and firms with greater executive power and more optimistic analyst forecasts. However, institutional investor site visits help mitigate this effect. This study provides new evidence for the opportunistic behaviour of executives from the perspective of digital disclosure.