IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v38y2019icp18-34.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender differences and managerial earnings forecast bias: Are female executives less overconfident than male executives?

Author

Listed:
  • Lonkani, Ravi

Abstract

This study examines whether firms with female executives forecast company earnings more conservatively. Consistent with the selectivity hypothesis, the results reveal firms with female CEOs tend to make conservative earnings forecasts in a perceived positive situation and firms with a higher percentage of female directors on the board are more likely to forecast earnings conservatively in a perceived negative situation. The conservativeness of female executives is not caused by lower management ability. This conservative behavior is not caused by personal factors such as military status, level of education, or area of study.

Suggested Citation

  • Lonkani, Ravi, 2019. "Gender differences and managerial earnings forecast bias: Are female executives less overconfident than male executives?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 18-34.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:38:y:2019:i:c:p:18-34
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2018.11.012
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014118304187
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2018.11.012?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Niessen, Alexandra & Ruenzi, Stefan, 2007. "Sex matters: Gender differences in a professional setting," CFR Working Papers 06-01, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).
    2. Skinner, Dj, 1994. "Why Firms Voluntarily Disclose Bad-News," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 38-60.
    3. Nooraisah Katmon & Omar Al Farooque, 2017. "Exploring the Impact of Internal Corporate Governance on the Relation Between Disclosure Quality and Earnings Management in the UK Listed Companies," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 142(2), pages 345-367, May.
    4. Marilyn F. Johnson & Ron Kasznik & Karen K. Nelson, 2001. "The Impact of Securities Litigation Reform on the Disclosure of Forward‐Looking Information By High Technology Firms," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(2), pages 297-327, September.
    5. Ole‐Kristian Hope, 2003. "Disclosure Practices, Enforcement of Accounting Standards, and Analysts' Forecast Accuracy: An International Study," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(2), pages 235-272, May.
    6. Michael C. Jensen, 2010. "The Modern Industrial Revolution, Exit, and the Failure of Internal Control Systems," Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, Morgan Stanley, vol. 22(1), pages 43-58, January.
    7. Kevin Campbell & Antonio Mínguez-Vera, 2008. "Gender Diversity in the Boardroom and Firm Financial Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 83(3), pages 435-451, December.
    8. John Capstaff & Krishna Paudyal & William Rees, 2001. "A Comparative Analysis of Earnings Forecasts in Europe," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5‐6), pages 531-562, June.
    9. Shamsul Nahar Abdullah & Ku Nor Izah Ku Ismail, 2016. "Women directors, family ownership and earnings management in Malaysia," Asian Review of Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 24(4), pages 525-550, December.
    10. Kothari, S. P., 2001. "Capital markets research in accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 105-231, September.
    11. K.V. Peasnell & P.F. Pope & S. Young, 2005. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management: Do Outside Directors Influence Abnormal Accruals?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7‐8), pages 1311-1346, September.
    12. Habib, Ahsan & Hossain, Mahmud, 2013. "CEO/CFO characteristics and financial reporting quality: A review," Research in Accounting Regulation, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 88-100.
    13. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    14. Denis Cormier & Pascale Lapointe-Antunes & Bruce J. McConomy, 2014. "Forecasts in IPO Prospectuses: The Effect of Corporate Governance on Earnings Management," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1-2), pages 100-127, January.
    15. Muhammad Ali & Yin Ng & Carol Kulik, 2014. "Board Age and Gender Diversity: A Test of Competing Linear and Curvilinear Predictions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 125(3), pages 497-512, December.
    16. Jianakoplos, Nancy Ammon & Bernasek, Alexandra, 1998. "Are Women More Risk Averse?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 36(4), pages 620-630, October.
    17. Ioanna Boulouta, 2013. "Hidden Connections: The Link Between Board Gender Diversity and Corporate Social Performance," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 113(2), pages 185-197, March.
    18. Bipin Ajinkya & Sanjeev Bhojraj & Partha Sengupta, 2005. "The Association between Outside Directors, Institutional Investors and the Properties of Management Earnings Forecasts," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 343-376, June.
    19. Patricia M. Dechow & Richard G. Sloan & Amy P. Sweeney, 1996. "Causes and Consequences of Earnings Manipulation: An Analysis of Firms Subject to Enforcement Actions by the SEC," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(1), pages 1-36, March.
    20. Kee H. Chung & Stephen W. Pruitt, 1994. "A Simple Approximation of Tobin's q," Financial Management, Financial Management Association, vol. 23(3), Fall.
    21. Verrecchia, Robert E., 2001. "Essays on disclosure," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1-3), pages 97-180, December.
    22. Brad M. Barber & Terrance Odean, 2001. "Boys will be Boys: Gender, Overconfidence, and Common Stock Investment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 116(1), pages 261-292.
    23. John Capstaff & Krishna Paudyal & William Rees, 2001. "A Comparative Analysis of Earnings Forecasts in Europe," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5‐6), pages 531-562, June.
    24. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Srinidhi, Bin & Ng, Anthony C., 2011. "Does board gender diversity improve the informativeness of stock prices?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(3), pages 314-338, April.
    25. Vivek Mande & Myungsoo Son, 2012. "CEO Centrality and Meeting or Beating Analysts’ Earnings Forecasts," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 39(1-2), pages 82-112, January.
    26. David Hirshleifer, 2001. "Investor Psychology and Asset Pricing," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(4), pages 1533-1597, August.
    27. Low, Daniel C.M. & Roberts, Helen & Whiting, Rosalind H., 2015. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: Empirical evidence from Hong Kong, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 381-401.
    28. Adams, Renée B. & Ferreira, Daniel, 2009. "Women in the boardroom and their impact on governance and performance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(2), pages 291-309, November.
    29. Yu-Ho Chi & David A. Ziebart, 2017. "Audit quality and attributes of management earnings forecasts," Review of Accounting and Finance, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 16(4), pages 406-423, November.
    30. Paul Mather & Alan Ramsay, 2006. "The Effects of Board Characteristics on Earnings Management around Australian CEO Changes," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 19(2), pages 78-93, December.
    31. Xie, Biao & Davidson, Wallace III & DaDalt, Peter J., 2003. "Earnings management and corporate governance: the role of the board and the audit committee," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 295-316, June.
    32. Lam, Kevin C.K. & McGuinness, Paul B. & Vieito, João Paulo, 2013. "CEO gender, executive compensation and firm performance in Chinese‐listed enterprises," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1136-1159.
    33. Irene Karamanou & Nikos Vafeas, 2005. "The Association between Corporate Boards, Audit Committees, and Management Earnings Forecasts: An Empirical Analysis," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 453-486, June.
    34. Ferris, Stephen P. & Javakhadze, David & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2017. "CEO social capital, risk-taking and corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 46-71.
    35. Coles, Jeffrey L. & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2006. "Managerial incentives and risk-taking," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 79(2), pages 431-468, February.
    36. Frankel, Richard & Kothari, S.P. & Weber, Joseph, 2006. "Determinants of the informativeness of analyst research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-2), pages 29-54, April.
    37. Irene Karamanou, 2011. "On the Determinants of Optimism in Financial Analyst Earnings Forecasts: The Effect of the Market's Ability to Adjust for the Bias," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 47(1), pages 1-26, March.
    38. Bosquet, Katrien & de Goeij, Peter & Smedts, Kristien, 2014. "Gender heterogeneity in the sell-side analyst recommendation issuing process," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 104-111.
    39. Kaileigh Byrne & Darrell Worthy, 2015. "Gender differences in reward sensitivity and information processing during decision-making," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 50(1), pages 55-71, February.
    40. Marie-Thérèse CLAES, 1999. "Women, men and management styles," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 138(4), pages 431-446, December.
    41. K.V. Peasnell & P.F. Pope & S. Young, 2005. "Board Monitoring and Earnings Management: Do Outside Directors Influence Abnormal Accruals?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(7-8), pages 1311-1346.
    42. Alexandra Bernasek & Stephanie Shwiff, 2001. "Gender, Risk, and Retirement," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 345-356, June.
    43. Khan, Walayet A. & Vieito, João Paulo, 2013. "Ceo gender and firm performance," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 55-66.
    44. Paul Mather & Alan Ramsay, 2006. "The Effects of Board Characteristics on Earnings Management around Australian CEO Changes," Accounting Research Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 19(2), pages 78-93, September.
    45. Christine A. Botosan & Marlene A. Plumlee, 2002. "A Re‐examination of Disclosure Level and the Expected Cost of Equity Capital," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(1), pages 21-40, March.
    46. Peter Easton & Gary Taylor & Pervin Shroff & Theodore Sougiannis, 2002. "Using Forecasts of Earnings to Simultaneously Estimate Growth and the Rate of Return on Equity Investment," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(3), pages 657-676, June.
    47. Cain, Matthew D. & McKeon, Stephen B., 2016. "CEO Personal Risk-Taking and Corporate Policies," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(1), pages 139-164, February.
    48. Nancy Ammon Jianakoplos & Alexandra Bernasek, 2006. "Financial Risk Taking by Age and Birth Cohort," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(4), pages 981-1001, April.
    49. Hibbert, Ann Marie & Lawrence, Edward R. & Prakash, Arun J., 2013. "Does knowledge of finance mitigate the gender difference in financial risk-aversion?," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 24(2), pages 140-152.
    50. John C. Easterwood & Stacey R. Nutt, 1999. "Inefficiency in Analysts' Earnings Forecasts: Systematic Misreaction or Systematic Optimism?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 54(5), pages 1777-1797, October.
    51. Huang, Jiekun & Kisgen, Darren J., 2013. "Gender and corporate finance: Are male executives overconfident relative to female executives?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(3), pages 822-839.
    52. David A. Carter & Betty J. Simkins & W. Gary Simpson, 2003. "Corporate Governance, Board Diversity, and Firm Value," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 38(1), pages 33-53, February.
    53. Hsu-Huei Huang & Min-Lee Chan & Chih-Hsiang Chang & Jing-Ling Wong, 2012. "Is Corporate Governance Related to the Conservatism in Management Earnings Forecasts?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(0), pages 105-121, July.
    54. Gul, Ferdinand A. & Fung, Simon Yu Kit & Jaggi, Bikki, 2009. "Earnings quality: Some evidence on the role of auditor tenure and auditors' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(3), pages 265-287, June.
    55. Shahra Razavi & Anne Jenichen, 2010. "The Unhappy Marriage of Religion and Politics: problems and pitfalls for gender equality," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(6), pages 833-850.
    56. Ulrike Malmendier & Geoffrey Tate & Jon Yan, 2011. "Overconfidence and Early‐Life Experiences: The Effect of Managerial Traits on Corporate Financial Policies," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1687-1733, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Datta, Sudip & Doan, Trang & Iskandar-Datta, Mai, 2022. "Top executives’ gender and analysts' earnings forecasts," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    2. Shujun Chao & Shanyong Wang & Haidong Li & Shu Yang, 2023. "The power of culture: Does Confucian culture contribute to corporate environmental information disclosure?," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2435-2456, September.
    3. Garanina, Tatiana & Muravyev, Alexander, 2021. "The gender composition of corporate boards and firm performance: Evidence from Russia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    4. Ararat, Melsa & Claessens, Stijn & Yurtoglu, B. Burcin, 2021. "Corporate governance in emerging markets: A selective review and an agenda for future research," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    5. Al-Mamun, Abdullah & Seamer, Michael, 2021. "Board of director attributes and CSR engagement in emerging economy firms: Evidence from across Asia," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    6. Lucas, Ryley & Gunasekarage, Abeyratna & Shams, Syed & Edirisuriya, Piyadasa, 2021. "Female directors and acquisitions: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    7. Wang, Yang & Zhang, Yifei & Kang, Wei & Ahmed, Ahmed Hassan, 2022. "Female analysts and COVID-19 corporate donation," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    8. Wang, Yun & Wilson, Craig & Li, Yanxi, 2021. "Gender attitudes and the effect of board gender diversity on corporate environmental responsibility," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Paul McGuinness & Kevin Lam & João Vieito, 2015. "Gender and other major board characteristics in China: Explaining corporate dividend policy and governance," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 32(4), pages 989-1038, December.
    2. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Mora, Araceli & Scapin, Mariano, 2017. "The monitoring role of female directors over accounting quality," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 651-668.
    3. Ahmed Bouteska & Mehdi Mili, 2022. "Does corporate governance affect financial analysts’ stock recommendations, target prices accuracy and earnings forecast characteristics? An empirical investigation of US companies," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 63(4), pages 2125-2171, October.
    4. Naeem Tabassum & Satwinder Singh, 2020. "Corporate Governance and Organisational Performance," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-030-48527-6, December.
    5. Mohamed Khalil & Aydin Ozkan, 2016. "Board Independence, Audit Quality and Earnings Management: Evidence from Egypt," Journal of Emerging Market Finance, Institute for Financial Management and Research, vol. 15(1), pages 84-118, April.
    6. McGuinness, Paul B., 2021. "Board member age, stock seasoning and the evolution of capital structure in Chinese firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(3).
    7. Alves, Paulo & Couto, Eduardo Barbosa & Francisco, Paulo Morais, 2015. "Board of directors’ composition and capital structure," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 1-32.
    8. Nooraisah Katmon & Zam Zuriyati Mohamad & Norlia Mat Norwani & Omar Al Farooque, 2019. "Comprehensive Board Diversity and Quality of Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: Evidence from an Emerging Market," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(2), pages 447-481, June.
    9. Aruoriwo Marian Chijoke-Mgbame & Agyenim Boateng & Chijoke Oscar Mgbame, 2020. "Board gender diversity, audit committee and financial performance: evidence from Nigeria," Accounting Forum, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 262-286, July.
    10. Paul B. McGuinness & João Paulo Vieito & Mingzhu Wang, 2020. "Proactive government intervention, board gender balance, and stakeholder engagement in China and Europe," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 719-762, September.
    11. Balachandran, Balasingham & Faff, Robert, 2015. "Corporate governance, firm value and risk: Past, present, and future," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 35(PA), pages 1-12.
    12. Jarkko Peltomäki & Jukka Sihvonen & Steve Swidler & Sami Vähämaa, 2021. "Age, gender, and risk‐taking: Evidence from the S&P 1500 executives and market‐based measures of firm risk," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 48(9-10), pages 1988-2014, October.
    13. Kubo, Katsuyuki & Nguyen, Thanh Thi Phuong, 2021. "Female CEOs on Japanese corporate boards and firm performance," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    14. Lucas, Ryley & Gunasekarage, Abeyratna & Shams, Syed & Edirisuriya, Piyadasa, 2021. "Female directors and acquisitions: Australian evidence," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    15. Ahmed, Ammad & Ali, Searat, 2017. "Boardroom gender diversity and stock liquidity: Evidence from Australia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 148-165.
    16. Mather, Paul & Ranasinghe, Dinithi & Unda, Luisa A., 2021. "Are gender diverse boards more cautious? The impact of board gender diversity on sentiment in earnings press releases," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(3).
    17. Belaounia, Samia & Tao, Ran & Zhao, Hong, 2020. "Gender equality's impact on female directors’ efficacy: A multi-country study," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(5).
    18. Stockmans, Annelies & Lybaert, Nadine & Voordeckers, Wim, 2013. "The conditional nature of board characteristics in constraining earnings management in private family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 4(2), pages 84-92.
    19. Md Arafat Hossain & Elaine Yen Nee Oon, 2022. "Board leadership, board meeting frequency and firm performance in two‐tier boards," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 862-879, April.
    20. Nguyen, Thi Hong Hanh & Ntim, Collins G. & Malagila, John K., 2020. "Women on corporate boards and corporate financial and non-financial performance: A systematic literature review and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Gender differences; Managerial earnings forecast; Selectivity hypothesis; Firm performance; Conservative behavior;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G20 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - General
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:38:y:2019:i:c:p:18-34. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620356 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.