A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision.
The term originated roughly a century ago to mean a type of position paper or industry report published by some department of the UK government.
In more recent years, this type of document has proliferated in business. Today, a B2B white paper is closer to a marketing presentation, a form of content meant to persuade customers and partners and promote a certain product or viewpoint.That makes B2B white papers a type of grey literature.