Patient Capital and Greenwashing

Xi Qiao

doi:10.54254/2754-1169/2025.LD25459

Advances in Economics, Management and Political SciencesOpen access

Patient Capital and Greenwashing

Research Article

Open Access

Patient Capital and Greenwashing

Xi Qiao ^1*

¹ Guangdong University of Foreign Studies

^*Corresponding author: 3311798385@qq.com

Published on 24 July 2025

AEMPS Vol.206

ISSN (Print): 2754-1177

ISSN (Online): 2754-1169

ISBN (Print): 978-1-80590-295-9

ISBN (Online): 978-1-80590-296-6

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Abstract

Against the backdrop of China’s "dual-carbon" goals being integrated into the top-level design of ecological civilization construction, frequent corporate "greenwashing" behavior (i.e., selective or symbolic disclosure of environmental information to mislead stakeholders) has severely impeded the efficiency of green financial resource allocation and the digital transformation of the real economy. Existing studies predominantly focus on the unidirectional impact of ESG performance on capital, yet systematically neglect the critical question of whether patient capital (long-term value-oriented capital) can inversely constrain corporate "greenwashing." Using panel data from the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies (2010–2022), this study constructs a two-way fixed-effects model, incorporating patient capital as an independent variable into the analytical framework of corporate environmental information quality for the first time. Textual analysis and panel threshold models are introduced to optimize measurement methods. The findings reveal that patient capital significantly inhibits greenwashing through three pathways: alleviating financing constraints, strengthening governance mechanisms, and promoting green technological innovation. This effect is more pronounced in heavily polluting industries and non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs). The study transcends the limitations of traditional ESG governance reliant on external ratings or policy intervention, revealing the market-endogenous constraint mechanism on greenwashing from the perspective of capital attributes. It provides novel insights for optimizing green financial instruments and guiding long-term capital to "vote with its feet."

Keywords:

patient capital, greenwashing, green innovation

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References

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References

[4]. Zhou Dapeng.The impact of "greenwashing" behavior in ESG disclosure on outward foreign direct investment of enterprises [J]. World Economic Research, 2024, (12): 18-31+133.

[5]. Yang Fang, Liu Yuxuan, Geng Liqian, et al. How corporate ESG performance affects patient capital [J]. Finance and Accounting Monthly, 2025, 46(07): 41-49.

[6]. Lin Yifu, Wang Yan. New structural economics: Patient capital as a comparative advantage [J]. Development Finance Research, 2017, 11(01): 3-15.

[9]. Su Dongwei, Liu Ziming. Does Green Finance Reform Affect Corporate Green Performance and Bleaching Green Risk? [J]. International Financial Studies, 2023, (04): 74-85

Cite this article

Qiao,X. (2025). Patient Capital and Greenwashing. Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,206,12-22.

Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.

About volume

Volume title: Proceedings of ICEMGD 2025 Symposium: Digital Transformation in Global Human Resource Management

ISBN: 978-1-80590-295-9(Print) / 978-1-80590-296-6(Online)

Editor: Florian Marcel Nuţă Nuţă, An Nguyen

Conference website: https://www.icemgd.org/committee.html

Conference date: 26 September 2025

Series: Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences

Volume number: Vol.206

ISSN: 2754-1169(Print) / 2754-1177(Online)

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