ESG Concerns, Greenwashing Skepticism, and Socially Responsible Investment Intention: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Abstract—Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) intention research organizes around five behavioral constructs which are the core Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), greenwashing concern, financial literacy, risk propensity, and ESG concerns, yet no review has mapped how populated each is or how greenwashing concern is positioned relative to attitude. This PRISMA-guided review draws on a two-database corpus (Scopus and Garuda) screened to 58 studies across six categories. ESG concerns (33%) and core TPB (33%) are well established, while greenwashing concern remains thin (3%, n=2) across both databases searched, a pattern consistent enough to suggest a genuine gap rather than a search artifact. Neither retrieved greenwashing study models the construct as an antecedent of attitude; both treat it as a filter applied after attitude has formed. A structural comparison of ten closely related studies confirms no prior work jointly models the full ESG triad, greenwashing concern, financial literacy, and risk propensity within one TPB framework, and none is set among Indonesian retail investors, a market of 22.96 million accounts with developing ESG infrastructure. This review argues greenwashing concern belongs upstream of attitude, with implications for investor-education versus disclosure-enforcement.

 Keywords—Socially Responsible Investment; Greenwashing Concern; Theory of Planned Behavior; ESG; Attitude Formation; Literature Review; Indonesia.