FinTech, Crowdfunding, Digital FinanceImpact of AI and Big Data on Business and SocietyInsurance and Financial Risk Management

Jinxian Wang, Jialong Fu, Weizhen Hu

2026.6.8Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies

DOI: 10.1111/ajfs.70053

Abstract

Recent research has increasingly focused on how digital finance influences corporate greenwashing. Leveraging a panel dataset of Chinese A‐share listed companies from 2011 to 2020, this paper investigates the impact and transmission mechanisms of digital finance on corporate greenwashing behavior. Our findings reveal a positive relationship between digital finance and greenwashing. This effect is particularly pronounced in non‐state‐owned enterprises, loss‐making enterprises, companies operating in highly competitive markets, and those with weaker information transparency. Regarding the underlying mechanism, we identify financialization and financing constraints as the pathways through which digital finance operates to influence corporate greenwashing, with the former imposing a larger effect. These findings underscore the need to guide the utilization of digital finance toward reallocating resources from financialization to environmental protection projects, thereby fostering long‐term sustainable development.

Citation format

WANG, Jinxian; FU, Jialong; HU, Weizhen. The impact of digital finance on corporate greenwashing: An analysis from the perspective of corporate financialization*. Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies, 2026.