Greenwashing Communication Deficiencies and Consumer Response: Implications for Sustainable Technology Entrepreneurship

This study examines how ineffective sustainability communication contributes to perceived greenwashing and its cascading effects on consumer behavior, with critical implications for sustainable technology entrepreneurs and circular economy business models. By integrating Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), Signaling Theory, and Trust-Commitment Theory, we develop a comprehensive framework explaining how communication deficiencies trigger dual pathways of consumer response, addressing a critical gap in sustainable entrepreneurship literature by linking communication quality to economic outcomes in green technology adoption. We employed a three-stage approach combining PRISMA methodology, Structural Topic Modeling (STM), and bibliometric analysis to systematically analyze 111 articles (2010-2024) from the Scopus database. STM analysis revealed three dominant thematic clusters: greenwashing practices and perception (41 %), consumer behavior and intentions (33 %), and trust erosion and skepticism (26 %). Findings demonstrate that inadequate sustainability communication creates substantial market barriers for green technology entrepreneurs, with trust erosion translating directly into reduced purchase intentions in circular economy sectors. Our Integrated Theoretical Model establishes dual impact pathways (psychological and behavioral) through which inadequate sustainability information triggers consumer responses, mediated by emotional, cognitive, attributional, and evaluative mechanisms. For sustainable technology entrepreneurs, findings highlight substantial economic risks of misleading environmental claims. From a policy perspective, results suggest environmental communication regulations may protect legitimate sustainable ventures from market confusion. The framework reveals economic mechanisms through which communication deficiencies translate into market failures in sustainable innovation ecosystems, positioning communication integrity as an essential economic strategy for circular economy viability and green market development.