Corporate Greenwashing-Oriented Pseudo-Innovation: A Literature Review

Against the backdrop of China's dual-carbon goals and the rapid expansion of ESG disclosure requirements, the volume of corporate green innovation has risen sharply. At the same time, more formalistic and strategic forms of innovation have appeared, often taking green patents and R&D expenditure as visible signs of environmental commitment. Drawing on both Chinese- and English-language studies, this review examines greenwashing-oriented pseudo-innovation from four perspectives: conceptual meaning, antecedents, economic consequences, and governance. Particular attention is paid to the boundary between this form of pseudo-innovation and conventional verbal greenwashing or broader forms of pseudo-corporate social responsibility. The review also summarizes theoretical developments and empirical evidence, identifies unresolved issues in conceptualization, identification and measurement, and governance, and outlines directions for future research. Existing studies suggest that greenwashing-oriented pseudo-innovation is an opportunistic strategy in which apparently substantive innovative actions are used as a symbolic vehicle to obtain legitimacy-related benefits. Such behavior can weaken market trust, damage corporate reputation, and distort the allocation of resources intended for genuine green innovation. Further work is therefore needed to sharpen the concept, improve measurement, and develop more targeted governance mechanisms.