The Contagion Effect of Greenwashing in Interlocking Directorate Networks: The Moderating Role of Financing Constraints and Implications for Corporate Sustainability

China’s “dual carbon” targets and stricter green finance regulations have increased compliance pressures on manufacturing firms. In response, some firms engage in greenwashing—exaggerating their environmental performance or concealing negative information. If greenwashing spreads through interlocking directorate networks, it poses a threat to green financial stability. However, existing research primarily focuses on individual firm motivations, leaving the mechanisms of network contagion and their boundary conditions insufficiently understood. Using panel data on A-share manufacturing firms from 2009 to 2023, we employ two-way fixed-effects models to test for peer greenwashing contagion and examine how financing constraints moderate this effect. Our findings reveal significant contagion within manufacturing interlocking directorate networks: firms facing fewer financing constraints are more sensitive to peer greenwashing. This effect is more pronounced in highly marketized regions, in high-tech industries, and among firms with advanced digital transformation.