企業ESG漂綠行為之影響因素與民眾認知：理論推導與實證

Abstract

ESG做為日益熱門的國際議題，至今衍生了許多受到廣泛討論的子項目，隨著話題的延燒，ESG領域也面臨著許多爭議及弊端。本研究根據其發展趨勢，從漂綠(Greenwashing)的問題點切入，探討現有研究及相關制度，整理漂綠現象的發展脈絡與變化，並分析企業漂綠行為的類型與模式，試圖在這嶄新的議題中建立完整的研究架構。 較早的文獻探討了漂綠的定義、類型、以及執行方式；而近期的文獻則著重於分析企業漂綠的動機，以及影響企業永續作為與揭露的因素。本研究經由文獻統整，結合對美國監管機關SEC、FTC、以及澳洲監管單位ASIC執行的企業漂綠行為調查與裁罰案件之分析，建構企業永續作為與漂綠程度的理論架構圖，並以民眾的構面進行實證，以驗證理論架構的可行性。 實證研究之迴歸模型設計以民眾環境意識層面之綠色消費與永續知識作為常設自變數，並設定假設條件，以情境式問答瞭解各個因素對民眾觀感造成的影響。結合企業特性、永續衝擊、ESG制度三大層面共九個影響因子，加上無假設條件的一般情境共十個模型，逐一探討民眾對企業永續作為的信任度如何被影響。 研究結果顯示，企業規模、信譽、知名度，以及產業環境與社會衝擊皆會影響民眾的觀感及認知，而ESG制度中除了政府監管的效用不明，其他如第三方認證、ESG評分、以及永續報告書的發布皆會影響民眾對企業的信任。而民眾之環境意識更在每個情境下皆顯著影響，本研究因此而延伸分析了民眾之綠色消費觀念及ESG知識對其他影響因子的調節作用，並由實證結果發現民眾在兩個意識因素下對企業有著不同的判斷。藉由探討影響企業漂綠行為的因素，可以加深對漂綠的認識，進而發展出控制漂綠現象的方法及規範。

ESG, as an increasingly popular international issue, has so far given rise to many widely discussed subtopics. With the spread of the topic, the field of ESG also faces many controversies and drawbacks. Based on its development trend, this study takes the problem of greenwashing as an entry point, explores existing research and related systems, organizes the development context and changes of the greenwashing phenomenon, and analyzes the types and patterns of corporate greenwashing behaviors, attempting to establish a complete research framework in this emerging issue. Earlier literature explored the definition, types, and implementation of greenwashing; recent literature has focused on analyzing the motivations of corporate greenwashing and factors that influence corporate sustainable behavior and disclosure. This study, through literature integration and analysis of corporate greenwashing investigations and penalties cases conducted by U.S. regulatory agencies SEC, FTC, and Australian regulatory agency ASIC, constructs a theoretical framework diagram of corporate sustainable behavior and greenwashing degree, and empirically verifies the feasibility of the theoretical framework from the perspective of the public. The regression model design of the empirical study takes green consumption and sustainable knowledge in the public environmental awareness level as constant independent variables and sets hypothetical conditions to understand the impact of various factors on the public perception through situational questioning. Combining nine influencing factors of three major aspects of corporate characteristics, sustainable impact, and ESG system, and a general situation without hypothetical conditions, a total of ten models are individually explored on how the public's trust in corporate sustainable behavior is affected. The research results show that corporate size, reputation, visibility, and industrial environmental and social impacts all affect public perception and cognition. In the ESG system, except for the unclear utility of government regulation, others such as third-party assurance, ESG scoring, and the release of sustainability reports all affect the public's trust in the enterprise. And public environmental awareness significantly affects in every situation. Therefore, this study extends the analysis of the moderating effect of the public's green consumption concept and ESG knowledge on other influencing factors, and it is found from the empirical results that the public has different judgments on enterprises under the two conscious factors. By exploring the factors that influence corporate greenwashing behavior, a deeper understanding of greenwashing can be gained, and methods and norms to control the greenwashing phenomenon can be developed.