Whether family ownership affects the relationship between CSR and EM: evidence from Chinese listed firms
Journal of Family Business Management
ISSN: 2043-6238
Article publication date: 26 April 2022
Issue publication date: 16 May 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and earnings management (EM) in China and whether family ownership impacts this relationship.
Design/methodology/approach
The research data are the financial reports and CSR disclosure reports of Chinese listed companies from the CSMAR database for the 2010–2020 period. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression was used to analyze the relationship between various variables in this study.
Findings
Results show that CSR significantly and positively affects accrual-based EM (AEM) but does not affect real EM (REM). Moreover, family ownership influences the positive relationship between CSR and AEM. Compared with non-family enterprises, family enterprises tend to disclose less CSR performance but also have lower AEM behavior.
Originality/value
This result is related to the information transparency of listed enterprises and Socioemotional Wealth theory. This study provides reference for domestic and foreign investors and other stakeholders in understanding the impact of family ownership on the relationship between CSR and earnings management to optimize their investment decisions.
Keywords
Citation
Rahman, M.J. and Zheng, X. (2023), "Whether family ownership affects the relationship between CSR and EM: evidence from Chinese listed firms", Journal of Family Business Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 373-386. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-03-2022-0030
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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