Pressure from superstition: the impact of the zodiac year on ESG greenwashing

In the context where traditional culture and corporate governance are deeply integrated, the zodiac year, as an important element of traditional Chinese folk culture, may subtly influence the decision-making behaviors of corporate managers. Based on this, this paper uses the samples of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2006 to 2023 to explore the impact and mechanism of the zodiac year of the chairman on the greenwashing behavior of companies. The research results show: When the chairman is in his zodiac year, he will restrain the greenwashing behavior of the enterprise. This conclusion still holds true after undergoing a series of robust tests. During the chairman’s zodiac year, he achieves this by strengthening information management and shaping a good corporate image. In enterprises with a chairman whose zodiac sign is more “timid and cautious”, state-owned enterprises, and enterprises with high energy consumption, the chairman’s influence on restraining the greenwashing behavior of the enterprise’s ESG is more significant. Overall, this study demonstrates the fundamental mechanism of the chairman’s zodiac year on the greenwashing behavior of the enterprise’s ESG, providing a new theoretical perspective for revealing the impact of non-economic factors of enterprises on ESG practices.