IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v75y2017icp8-16.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does family involvement explain why corporate social responsibility affects earnings management?

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Mingzhi
  • Shi, Yulin
  • Wilson, Craig
  • Wu, Zhenyu

Abstract

We investigate how family involvement in the ownership, management, or governance of a business affects its engagement in earnings management both directly and indirectly through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. Using a sample of S&P 500 companies, we find that family firms tend to have higher CSR performance, which can help them to maintain legitimacy and preserve socio-emotional wealth. Family firms also engage in less accrual-based earnings management, although they are indistinguishable from non-family firms in terms of real earnings management. In contrast to previous research, we find that CSR performance is not significantly associated with either accrual-based or real earnings management behavior after we account for the effect of family involvement. Our findings suggest that the association between CSR performance and family involvement is the primary driver of the relation between CSR performance and earnings management documented in previous research.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Mingzhi & Shi, Yulin & Wilson, Craig & Wu, Zhenyu, 2017. "Does family involvement explain why corporate social responsibility affects earnings management?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 8-16.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:75:y:2017:i:c:p:8-16
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.02.001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296317300486
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.02.001?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. Anderson, Ronald C. & Mansi, Sattar A. & Reeb, David M., 2003. "Founding family ownership and the agency cost of debt," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 263-285, May.
    2. Jones, Jj, 1991. "Earnings Management During Import Relief Investigations," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(2), pages 193-228.
    3. Diego Prior & Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó, 2008. "Are Socially Responsible Managers Really Ethical? Exploring the Relationship Between Earnings Management and Corporate Social Responsibility," Corporate Governance: An International Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 160-177, May.
    4. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    5. Wang, David Han-Min & Chen, Pei-Hua & Yu, Tiffany Hui-Kuang & Hsiao, Chih-Yi, 2015. "The effects of corporate social responsibility on brand equity and firm performance," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(11), pages 2232-2236.
    6. Thomas M. Zellweger & Franz W. Kellermanns & James J. Chrisman & Jess H. Chua, 2012. "Family Control and Family Firm Valuation by Family CEOs: The Importance of Intentions for Transgenerational Control," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 23(3), pages 851-868, June.
    7. Dechun Wang, 2006. "Founding Family Ownership and Earnings Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(3), pages 619-656, June.
    8. Yongtao Hong & Margaret Andersen, 2011. "The Relationship Between Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: An Exploratory Study," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 104(4), pages 461-471, December.
    9. Morck, Randall & Shleifer, Andrei & Vishny, Robert W, 1989. "Alternative Mechanisms for Corporate Control," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(4), pages 842-852, September.
    10. 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.
    11. Lin, Yi-Mien & Shen, Cheng-An, 2015. "Family firms' credit rating, idiosyncratic risk, and earnings management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 872-877.
    12. Leuz, Christian & Nanda, Dhananjay & Wysocki, Peter D., 2003. "Earnings management and investor protection: an international comparison," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(3), pages 505-527, September.
    13. Hsiang-Lin Chih & Chung-Hua Shen & Feng-Ching Kang, 2008. "Corporate Social Responsibility, Investor Protection, and Earnings Management: Some International Evidence," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 79(1), pages 179-198, April.
    14. Kothari, S.P. & Leone, Andrew J. & Wasley, Charles E., 2005. "Performance matched discretionary accrual measures," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 163-197, February.
    15. Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero & Shantanu Banerjee & Isabel María García-Sánchez, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Strategic Shield Against Costs of Earnings Management Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 305-324, January.
    16. Hadani, Michael & Goranova, Maria & Khan, Raihan, 2011. "Institutional investors, shareholder activism, and earnings management," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 64(12), pages 1352-1360.
    17. McNichols, Maureen F., 2000. "Research design issues in earnings management studies," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(4-5), pages 313-345.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Jesus Sáenz González & Emma García-Meca, 2014. "Does Corporate Governance Influence Earnings Management in Latin American Markets?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 121(3), pages 419-440, May.
    2. Giovanna Gavana & Pietro Gottardo & Anna Maria Moisello, 2022. "Related Party Transactions and Earnings Management: The Moderating Effect of ESG Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-21, May.
    3. Habiba Al‐Shaer, 2020. "Sustainability reporting quality and post‐audit financial reporting quality: Empirical evidence from the UK," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2355-2373, September.
    4. Jannik Gerwanski & Othar Kordsachia & Patrick Velte, 2019. "Determinants of materiality disclosure quality in integrated reporting: Empirical evidence from an international setting," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 750-770, July.
    5. Ni, Xiaoran, 2020. "Does stakeholder orientation matter for earnings management: Evidence from non-shareholder constituency statutes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    6. Óscar Villarón-Peramato & Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero & Isabel-María García-Sánchez, 2018. "CSR as entrenchment strategy and capital structure: corporate governance and investor protection as complementary and substitutive factors," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 27-64, January.
    7. Wadhaah Ibrahim Almubarak & Kaouther Chebbi & Mohammed Abdullah Ammer, 2023. "Unveiling the Connection among ESG, Earnings Management, and Financial Distress: Insights from an Emerging Market," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(16), pages 1-23, August.
    8. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    9. Isabel‐Maria García‐Sánchez & Nazim Hussain & Sana Akbar Khan & Jennifer Martínez‐Ferrero, 2020. "Managerial entrenchment, corporate social responsibility, and earnings management," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(4), pages 1818-1833, July.
    10. Samuel Buertey & Eun‐Jung Sun & Jang Soon Lee & Juhee Hwang, 2020. "Corporate social responsibility and earnings management: The moderating effect of corporate governance mechanisms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(1), pages 256-271, January.
    11. Sumon Kumar Bhaumik & Andros Gregoriou, 2010. "‘Family’ Ownership, Tunnelling And Earnings Management: A Review Of The Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(4), pages 705-730, September.
    12. Lee, Cheng-Hsun & Bose, Sudipta, 2021. "Do family firms engage in less tax avoidance than non-family firms? The corporate opacity perspective," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    13. Lin Liao & Guanting Chen & Dengjin Zheng, 2019. "Corporate social responsibility and financial fraud: evidence from China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 59(5), pages 3133-3169, December.
    14. Jennifer Martínez-Ferrero & Shantanu Banerjee & Isabel María García-Sánchez, 2016. "Corporate Social Responsibility as a Strategic Shield Against Costs of Earnings Management Practices," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 133(2), pages 305-324, January.
    15. Tiago Gonçalves & Cristina Gaio & André Ferro, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Earnings Management: Moderating Impact of Economic Cycles and Financial Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-14, September.
    16. 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.
    17. Ali Meftah Gerged & Khaldoon Albitar & Lara Al‐Haddad, 2023. "Corporate environmental disclosure and earnings management—The moderating role of corporate governance structures," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 2789-2810, July.
    18. Ann-Kristin Achleitner & Nina G�nther & Christoph Kaserer & Gianfranco Siciliano, 2014. "Real Earnings Management and Accrual-based Earnings Management in Family Firms," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(3), pages 431-461, September.
    19. Abdullah Alsaadi, 2021. "Can Inclusion in Religious Index Membership Mitigate Earnings Management?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 169(2), pages 333-354, March.
    20. Elisabete F. Simões Vieira, 2016. "Earnings Management in Public Family Firms under Economic Adversity," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 26(2), pages 190-207, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate social responsibility; Family involvement; Accrual-based earnings management; Real earnings management;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    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:jbrese:v:75:y:2017:i:c:p:8-16. 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/jbusres .

    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.