TY - THES ID - 137522786 TI - Examining the socially constructed nature of corporate illegitimacy: corporate greenwashing as a delegitimation practice AU - Stuckens, Julie AU - Luyckx, Joost AU - van Gils, Michelle AU - KU Leuven. Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen. Opleiding Master in de toegepaste economische wetenschappen (Leuven) PY - 2017 PB - Leuven KU Leuven. Faculteit Economie en Bedrijfswetenschappen DB - UniCat UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:137522786 AB - Corporate Social Responsibility is a frequently used marketing tool nowadays. Companies aim for a green reputation and customers hope for actual green performance. In case of a noteworthy gap between both, one speaks of greenwashing. In this study we aim to provide an answer to the key question ‘What kind of discursive delegitimation strategies are employed to sustain accusations of corporate greenwashing?’. Articles concerning three vexed companies, IKEA, KLM and The Body Shop, are analysed using the Critical Discourse Analysis to get insight on discursive delegitimation processes. From our findings, we can conclude that unfulfilled expectations represent the main reason for customer greenwashing accusations. In combination with the fact that companies mostly greenwash their business in order to be in line with these customer expectations, this thesis discovered an outstanding contradiction between both players. ER -