IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ememar/v47y2021ics1566014121000054.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Earnings management and firms' investment behavior: The threshold effect of ROE

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Shengqiang
  • Lin, Shu
  • Sun, Zhaoyu
  • Yuan, Lihua

Abstract

This paper, on the basis of a sample of Chinese listed firms, investigates the relationship between both real and accrual-based earnings management activities and firms' capital investment behavior. We apply the threshold model proposed by Hansen (1999) and find firms managing earnings can either over or underinvest, depending upon firms' return on equity (ROE) level. The study results show an inverted relationship between earnings management and firms' investment, which changes from negative to positive with ROE rising beyond certain threshold levels. We also find that the level of ROE affects whether managers use real and accrual manipulations jointly or as substitutes in affecting firms' investment. Our evidence is important because it sheds new light on the relationship between earnings management activities and firms' investment behavior by showing that ROE may act as an important determinant in this relationship. This finding has important implications for policymakers such as the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) as it shows that the regulatory benchmarks they set may have a significant impact on firms' investment behavior.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Shengqiang & Lin, Shu & Sun, Zhaoyu & Yuan, Lihua, 2021. "Earnings management and firms' investment behavior: The threshold effect of ROE," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ememar:v:47:y:2021:i:c:s1566014121000054
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ememar.2021.100797
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1566014121000054
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ememar.2021.100797?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    2. Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1997. "A Survey of Corporate Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(2), pages 737-783, June.
    3. Shen, Chung-Hua & Luo, Fuyan & Huang, Dengshi, 2015. "Analysis of earnings management influence on the investment efficiency of listed Chinese companies," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 60-78.
    4. Jensen, Michael C, 1986. "Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow, Corporate Finance, and Takeovers," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(2), pages 323-329, May.
    5. Anne Beatty & W. Scott Liao & Joseph Weber, 2010. "The Effect of Private Information and Monitoring on the Role of Accounting Quality in Investment Decisions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 1-1, March.
    6. Simi Kedia & Thomas Philippon, 2009. "The Economics of Fraudulent Accounting," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2169-2199, June.
    7. Myers, Stewart C. & Majluf, Nicholas S., 1984. "Corporate financing and investment decisions when firms have information that investors do not have," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(2), pages 187-221, June.
    8. Degeorge, Francois & Patel, Jayendu & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1999. "Earnings Management to Exceed Thresholds," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(1), pages 1-33, January.
    9. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    10. Hansen, Bruce E., 1999. "Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 93(2), pages 345-368, December.
    11. Fich, Eliezer M. & Harford, Jarrad & Tran, Anh L., 2015. "Motivated monitors: The importance of institutional investors׳ portfolio weights," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(1), pages 21-48.
    12. Hu, Jinshuai & Jiang, Haiyan & Holmes, Mark, 2019. "Government subsidies and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    13. John Asker & Joan Farre-Mensa & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2015. "Corporate Investment and Stock Market Listing: A Puzzle?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 342-390.
    14. Graham, John R. & Harvey, Campbell R. & Rajgopal, Shiva, 2005. "The economic implications of corporate financial reporting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(1-3), pages 3-73, December.
    15. Cheng, Mei & Dhaliwal, Dan & Zhang, Yuan, 2013. "Does investment efficiency improve after the disclosure of material weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 1-18.
    16. La Porta, Rafael & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert, 2000. "Investor protection and corporate governance," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1-2), pages 3-27.
    17. 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.
    18. Chen, Xiao & Lee, Chi-Wen Jevons & Li, Jing, 2008. "Government assisted earnings management in China," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 262-274.
    19. Elaoud, Assawer & Jarboui, Anis, 2017. "Auditor specialization, accounting information quality and investment efficiency," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 616-629.
    20. Cohen, Daniel A. & Zarowin, Paul, 2010. "Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 2-19, May.
    21. Hong Fan & Xiaofei Song, 2019. "Earnings management of Chinese central state-owned enterprises – the effects of state level incentives," Asia-Pacific Journal of Accounting & Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(6), pages 643-658, November.
    22. Anne Beatty & W. Scott Liao & Joseph Weber, 2010. "The Effect of Private Information and Monitoring on the Role of Accounting Quality in Investment Decisions," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 17-47, March.
    23. Gilles Hilary & Gary C. Biddle, 2006. "Accounting Quality and Firm-Level Capital Investment," Post-Print hal-00481720, HAL.
    24. In†Mu Haw & Daqing Qi & Donghui Wu & Woody Wu, 2005. "Market Consequences of Earnings Management in Response to Security Regulations in China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(1), pages 95-140, March.
    25. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Penalva, Fernando, 2016. "Accounting conservatism and firm investment efficiency," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 221-238.
    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. Sawarni, Kumar Sanjay & Narayanasamy, Sivasankaran & Padhan, Purna Chandra, 2023. "Impact of earnings management on working capital management efficiency," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    2. Kuantan, Dhaha Praviandi & Siregar, Hermanto & Ratnawati, Anny & Juhro, Solikin M., 2021. "Corporate Investment Behavior and Level of Participation in the Global Value Chain: A Dynamic Panel Data Approach," MPRA Paper 115417, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Oct 2021.
    3. Jin Dai & Chong Gao & Qian Sun, 2024. "Employee stock ownership plans and capital expenditures in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(4), pages 4095-4130, December.
    4. Sumiyana Sumiyana & Ainun Na’im & Firdaus Kurniawan & Albertus H. L. Nugroho, 2023. "Earnings management and financial distress or soundness determining CEOs’ future over- and under-investment decisions," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    5. Johan, Sofia & Kayani, Umar Nawaz & Naeem, Muhammad Abubakr & Karim, Sitara, 2024. "How effective is the cash conversion cycle in improving firm performance? Evidence from BRICS," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(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. Roychowdhury, Sugata & Shroff, Nemit & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2019. "The effects of financial reporting and disclosure on corporate investment: A review," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2).
    2. Cao, Zhangfan & Rees, William & Zhang, Zhifang, 2023. "The effect of real earnings smoothing on corporate labour investment," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(6).
    3. Armstrong, Christopher S. & Guay, Wayne R. & Weber, Joseph P., 2010. "The role of information and financial reporting in corporate governance and debt contracting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 179-234, December.
    4. Asiri, Mohammed & Al-Hadi, Ahmed & Taylor, Grantley & Duong, Lien, 2020. "Is corporate tax avoidance associated with investment efficiency?," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    5. Leonard Leye Li & Gary S. Monroe & Jeff Coulton, 2023. "Managerial litigation risk and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from universal demand laws," Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(1), pages 196-232, March.
    6. Gao, Xin & Xu, Weidong & Li, Donghui & Xing, Lu, 2021. "Media coverage and investment efficiency," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 270-293.
    7. Chan-Jane Lin & Tawei Wang & Chao-Jung Pan, 2016. "Financial reporting quality and investment decisions for family firms," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(2), pages 499-532, June.
    8. Jean Jinghan Chen & Peng Cheng & Xinrong Xiao, 2011. "Related party transactions as a source of earnings management," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 165-181.
    9. Liu, Yin & Neely, Pamela & Karim, Khondkar, 2022. "The impact of CFO gender on corporate overinvestment," Advances in accounting, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    10. Biehl, Henrike & Bleibtreu, Christopher & Stefani, Ulrike, 2024. "The real effects of financial reporting: Evidence and suggestions for future research," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    11. Ma, Xiaofang & Chen, Jun & Dong, Wang & Su, Qiaoling, 2024. "Chief accountants weigh in: How professional leadership of SOEs influence investment efficiency," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 95(PB).
    12. Li, Zhaochu & Lytvynenko, Iryna P. & Philippoff, Karl S., 2021. "Stock market reactions to R&D cuts used to manage earnings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    13. Stephie Tsai, Hsin-Ju & Wu, Yuliang & Xu, Bin, 2021. "Does capital market drive corporate investment efficiency? Evidence from equity lending supply," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. Ghaly, Mohamed & Dang, Viet Anh & Stathopoulos, Konstantinos, 2020. "Institutional investors' horizons and corporate employment decisions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    15. Bo-Hung Chiou & Shen-Ho Chang, 2020. "Influence of Investment Efficiency by Managers and Accounting Conservatism on Idiosyncratic Risks to Investors," Advances in Management and Applied Economics, SCIENPRESS Ltd, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8.
    16. Clarkson, Peter & Gao, Ru & Herbohn, Kathleen, 2020. "The relationship between a firm’s information environment and its cash holding decision," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(2).
    17. Choi, Heeick & Karim, Khondkar & Liu, Yin, 2025. "Tournament incentives, corporate overinvestment, and economic consequences," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    18. Liu, Sun & Zhang, Jie, 2023. "Conditional conservatism and investment efficiency under a state ownership environment: Further evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    19. Hu, Jinshuai & Jiang, Haiyan & Holmes, Mark, 2019. "Government subsidies and corporate investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 41(C).
    20. Rawat, Savita & Chaudhry, Neeru, 2025. "Earnings quality, business group affiliation, and investment efficiency," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:47:y:2021:i:c:s1566014121000054. 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.