Memetakan Lanskap Greenwashing dalam Pelaporan Keberlanjutan : Tinjauan Bibliometrik
Abstract
The growing adoption of sustainability reporting has brought greenwashing to the forefront as a pressing concern, one that can undermine the credibility of sustainability disclosure and erode stakeholder trust. This study maps the development and trends of greenwashing research in sustainability reporting through a bibliometric analysis combined with a systematic literature review guided by the PRISMA protocol, using 1.280 documents indexed in Scopus from 2003 to 2006, processed with Bibliometrix and Biblioshiny in R Studio. The novelty of this study lies in its specific focus on the link between greenwashing and sustainability reporting, a connection that prior biliometric studies have largely treated separately. The results show a significant rise in publications since 2021, becoming sharper after 2024, reflecting growing academic attention to the quality and transparency of sustainability disclosures. This study also maps the most influential authors, journals and institution, along with dominant themes such as ESG disclosure, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance and corporate transparency. Future research directions include artificial intelligence-based greenwashing detection, the effectiveness of sustainability regulation and the influence of greenwashing on investment decisions and stakeholder trust. These findings confirm that greenwashing has become a central issue in sustainability reporting that continues to warrant closer academic attention.
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