CEO Social Consciousness and Greenwashing: The Impact of CEO Social Status on the Carbon Greenwashing of Hospitality Organizations

Corporate carbon management in the hospitality and tourism industry is gaining prominence, yet limited attention has been directed to the issue of carbon greenwashing (CG), wherein corporations mislead stakeholders by overstating their sustainability practices. Such misrepresentation undermines global decarbonization efforts. Grounded in costly signaling theory, this study investigates the relationship between CEO social status and CG tendencies in the hospitality and tourism industry. Using comprehensive data from the Carbon Disclosure Project, our study discovers a notable relationship between CEO social standing and a corporation’s propensity to engage in CG, which is moderated by institutional influences such as environmental norms, judicial systems and accounting standards. Our findings advance the literature on carbon management, business ethics, and social psychology, and provide implications for reducing misleading claims of sustainability, thereby promoting genuine environmental action and allowing decarbonization initiatives to progress.