IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v83y2018icp138-150.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Government affiliation, real earnings management, and firm performance: The case of privately held firms

Author

Listed:
  • Ding, Rong
  • Li, Jialong
  • Wu, Zhenyu

Abstract

Using a moderated mediation model, we investigate the effects of government affiliation on the performance and real earnings management of privately held firms in China between 1998 and 2012. We find that politically affiliated firms tend to have superior accounting performance. The findings also suggest that politically affiliated firms are more likely than non-affiliated firms to engage in real activities to manipulate earnings. Furthermore, regional economic development moderates the relationships between political affiliation and real earnings management as well as firm performance. Finally, real earnings management mediates the effect of political affiliation on firm performance among privately held firms.

Suggested Citation

  • Ding, Rong & Li, Jialong & Wu, Zhenyu, 2018. "Government affiliation, real earnings management, and firm performance: The case of privately held firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 138-150.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:83:y:2018:i:c:p:138-150
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.10.011
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296317303831
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2017.10.011?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. Chutatong Charumilind & Raja Kali & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2006. "Connected Lending: Thailand before the Financial Crisis," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 79(1), pages 181-218, January.
    2. Fan, Joseph P.H. & Wong, T.J. & Zhang, Tianyu, 2007. "Politically connected CEOs, corporate governance, and Post-IPO performance of China's newly partially privatized firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(2), pages 330-357, May.
    3. Agrawal, Anup & Knoeber, Charles R, 2001. "Do Some Outside Directors Play a Political Role?," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 44(1), pages 179-198, April.
    4. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    5. Leuz, Christian & Oberholzer-Gee, Felix, 2006. "Political relationships, global financing, and corporate transparency: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 411-439, August.
    6. Berkman, Henk & Cole, Rebel A. & Fu, Lawrence J., 2010. "Political Connections and Minority-Shareholder Protection: Evidence from Securities-Market Regulation in China," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(6), pages 1391-1417, December.
    7. Randall Morck & David Stangeland & Bernard Yeung, 2000. "Inherited Wealth, Corporate Control, and Economic Growth The Canadian Disease?," NBER Chapters, in: Concentrated Corporate Ownership, pages 319-372, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Tsui, Kai-yuen, 1996. "Economic reform and interprovincial inequalities in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 353-368, August.
    9. Eitan Goldman & Jörg Rocholl & Jongil So, 2009. "Do Politically Connected Boards Affect Firm Value?," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2331-2360, June.
    10. Brandt, Loren & Li, Hongbin, 2003. "Bank discrimination in transition economies: ideology, information, or incentives?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 387-413, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Yueh, Linda, 2011. "Enterprising China: Business, Economic, and Legal Developments since 1979," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199205820.
    13. Joel F. Houston & Liangliang Jiang & Chen Lin & Yue Ma, 2014. "Political Connections and the Cost of Bank Loans," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(1), pages 193-243, March.
    14. Hanwen Chen & Jeff Zeyun Chen & Gerald J. Lobo & Yanyan Wang, 2011. "Effects of Audit Quality on Earnings Management and Cost of Equity Capital: Evidence from China," Contemporary Accounting Research, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(3), pages 892-925, September.
    15. Chaney, Paul K. & Faccio, Mara & Parsley, David, 2011. "The quality of accounting information in politically connected firms," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(1-2), pages 58-76, February.
    16. Li, Hongbin & Meng, Lingsheng & Wang, Qian & Zhou, Li-An, 2008. "Political connections, financing and firm performance: Evidence from Chinese private firms," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 283-299, October.
    17. Hellman, Joel S. & Jones, Geraint & Kaufmann, Daniel, 2003. "Seize the state, seize the day: state capture and influence in transition economies," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 751-773, December.
    18. Roychowdhury, Sugata, 2006. "Earnings management through real activities manipulation," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 335-370, December.
    19. Randall K. Morck & David A. Strangeland & Bernard Yeung, 1998. "Inherited Wealth, Corporate Control and Economic Growth," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 209, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    20. O'Connor, Neale G. & Deng, Johnny & Luo, Yadong, 2006. "Political constraints, organization design and performance measurement in China's state-owned enterprises," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 157-177, February.
    21. Mara Faccio, 2006. "Politically Connected Firms," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(1), pages 369-386, March.
    22. Chen, Gongmeng & Firth, Michael & Gao, Daniel N. & Rui, Oliver M., 2006. "Ownership structure, corporate governance, and fraud: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 424-448, June.
    23. Johnson, Simon & Mitton, Todd, 2003. "Cronyism and capital controls: evidence from Malaysia," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(2), pages 351-382, February.
    24. Asim Ijaz Khwaja & Atif Mian, 2005. "Do Lenders Favor Politically Connected Firms? Rent Provision in an Emerging Financial Market," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 120(4), pages 1371-1411.
    25. Pramuan Bunkanwanicha & Yupana Wiwattanakantang, 2009. "Big Business Owners in Politics," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(6), pages 2133-2168, June.
    26. Claessens, Stijn & Feijen, Erik & Laeven, Luc, 2008. "Political connections and preferential access to finance: The role of campaign contributions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 554-580, June.
    27. Zhong-qin Su & Hung-Gay Fung, 2013. "Political Connections and Firm Performance in Chinese Companies," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 283-317, August.
    28. Mara Faccio, 2010. "Differences between Politically Connected and Nonconnected Firms: A Cross‐Country Analysis," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 39(3), pages 905-928, September.
    29. David P. Mackinnon & James H. Dwyer, 1993. "Estimating Mediated Effects in Prevention Studies," Evaluation Review, , vol. 17(2), pages 144-158, April.
    30. Ball, Ray & Shivakumar, Lakshmanan, 2005. "Earnings quality in UK private firms: comparative loss recognition timeliness," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 83-128, February.
    31. Michael Firth & Oliver M. Rui & Wenfeng Wu, 2011. "The Effects of Political Connections and State Ownership on Corporate Litigation in China," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(3), pages 573-607.
    32. Infante, L. & Piazza, M., 2014. "Political connections and preferential lending at local level: Some evidence from the Italian credit market," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 246-262.
    33. MARA FACCIO & RONALD W. MASULIS & JOHN J. McCONNELL, 2006. "Political Connections and Corporate Bailouts," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(6), pages 2597-2635, December.
    34. DeAngelo, Harry & DeAngelo, Linda & Skinner, Douglas J., 1994. "Accounting choice in troubled companies," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 113-143, January.
    35. 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.
    36. repec:bla:jfinan:v:53:y:1998:i:6:p:1935-1974 is not listed on IDEAS
    37. Wei, Zuobao & Xie, Feixue & Zhang, Shaorong, 2005. "Ownership Structure and Firm Value in China's Privatized Firms: 1991–2001," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 40(1), pages 87-108, March.
    38. Yangru Wu, 2011. "Momentum trading, mean reversal and overreaction in Chinese stock market," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 37(3), pages 301-323, October.
    39. Takao Kato & Cheryl Long, 2006. "Executive Turnover and Firm Performance in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 363-367, May.
    40. Braam, Geert & Nandy, Monomita & Weitzel, Utz & Lodh, Suman, 2015. "Accrual-based and real earnings management and political connections," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 111-141.
    41. Groves, Theodore & Yongmiao Hong & John McMillan & Barry Naughton, 1995. "China's Evolving Managerial Labor Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 873-892, August.
    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. Wu, Bing & Deng, Ping, 2020. "Internationalization of SMEs from emerging markets: An institutional escape perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 337-350.
    2. Shan Lu & Peng Wu & Lei Gao & Richard Gifford, 2023. "Are State-Owned Enterprises Equally Reliable Information Suppliers? An Examination of the Impacts of State Ownership on Earnings Management Strategies of Chinese Enterprises," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-26, February.
    3. Nguyen Vinh Khuong & Nguyen Tran Thai Ha & Phung Anh Thu, 2019. "The Relationship between Real Earnings Management and Firm Performance: The Case of Energy Firms in Vietnam," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 9(2), pages 307-314.
    4. Lin, Boqiang & Wang, Siquan, 2023. "The performance of specialized and oriented diversified firms: A comparative analysis from the targeted expansion of renewable energy business of listed companies," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Kuo‐Cheng Kuo & Wen‐Min Lu & Thanh Nhan Dinh, 2020. "Firm performance and ownership structure: Dynamic network data envelopment analysis approach," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 41(4), pages 608-623, June.
    6. Zhe Ouyang & Qian Sun & Yang Liu, 2024. "The impact of investor reaction to crisis events on corporate philanthropy: evidence from Chinese firms," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(1), pages 139-163, February.
    7. Zu, Xu & Diao, Xinyi & Meng, Zhiyi, 2019. "The impact of social media input intensity on firm performance: Evidence from Sina Weibo," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 536(C).
    8. Deng, Ping & Zhang, Shuo, 2018. "Institutional quality and internationalization of emerging market firms: Focusing on Chinese SMEs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 279-289.
    9. Theodora Bermpei & Antonios Nikolaos Kalyvas & Lorenzo Neri & Antonella Russo, 2022. "Does economic policy uncertainty matter for financial reporting quality? Evidence from the United States," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 795-845, February.
    10. Xincai Gao & Zhongyang Ji & Fayyaz Ahmad & Muhammad Umar Draz, 2019. "Financial Support and Growth of Township and Village Enterprises in China: Fresh Evidence From Regional Analyses," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(2), pages 21582440198, June.
    11. Ghafran, Chaudhry & O'Sullivan, Noel & Yasmin, Sofia, 2022. "When does audit committee busyness influence earnings management in the UK? Evidence on the role of the financial crisis and company size," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    12. Ines Kahloul & Jocelyn Grira & Khawla Hlel, 2023. "The trilogy of economic policy uncertainty, earnings management and firm performance: empirical evidence from France," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 47(1), pages 184-206, March.
    13. Mengyun Wu & Martha Coleman & Jonas Bawuah, 2020. "The Predictive Power of K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN): The Effect of Corporate Governance Mechanisms on Earnings Management," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(3), pages 21582440209, August.
    14. Ahsan Habib & Dinithi Ranasinghe & Julia Yonghua Wu & Pallab Kumar Biswas & Fawad Ahmad, 2022. "Real earnings management: A review of the international literature," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4279-4344, December.
    15. Ashfaque Banbhan & Xinsheng Cheng & Nizam Ud Din, 2018. "Financially Qualified Members in an Upper Echelon and Their Relationship with Corporate Sustainability: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-19, December.
    16. Meijui Sun & Ming-Chang Huang, 2022. "Does CSR reputation mitigate the impact of corporate social irresponsibility?," Asian Business & Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(2), pages 261-285, April.
    17. Bach Nguyen & Hoa Do & Chau Le, 2022. "How much state ownership do hybrid firms need for better performance?," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 59(3), pages 845-871, October.
    18. Yang Songling & Muhammad Ishtiaq & Muhammad Anwar & Hamid Ahmed, 2018. "The Role of Government Support in Sustainable Competitive Position and Firm Performance," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, September.

    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. Su, Zhong-qin & Fung, Hung-Gay & Huang, Deng-shi & Shen, Chung-Hua, 2014. "Cash dividends, expropriation, and political connections: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 260-272.
    2. Qu Deng & Hezun Li & Hong Yue, 2024. "Public–private partnership, cost of debt and accounting conservatism," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(1), pages 432-482, March.
    3. Boubakri, Narjess & Guedhami, Omrane & Mishra, Dev & Saffar, Walid, 2012. "Political connections and the cost of equity capital," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 541-559.
    4. Cull, Robert & Li, Wei & Sun, Bo & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2015. "Government connections and financial constraints: Evidence from a large representative sample of Chinese firms," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 271-294.
    5. Habib, Ahsan & Ranasinghe, Dinithi & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Islam, Ainul, 2018. "Political connections, financial reporting and auditing: Survey of the empirical literature," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 37-51.
    6. Ding, Shujun & Jia, Chunxin & Wu, Zhenyu & Zhang, Xiaoqing, 2014. "Executive political connections and firm performance: Comparative evidence from privately-controlled and state-owned enterprises," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 153-167.
    7. Wong, Wai-Yan & Hooy, Chee-Wooi, 2018. "Do types of political connection affect firm performance differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 297-317.
    8. Thanh Ngo & Jurica Susnjara, 2020. "Government contracts and US bond yield spreads: A study on costs and benefits of materialized political connections," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(7-8), pages 1059-1085, July.
    9. Shujun Ding & Chunxin Jia & Craig Wilson & Zhenyu Wu, 2015. "Political connections and agency conflicts: the roles of owner and manager political influence on executive compensation," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 407-434, August.
    10. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political connections, related party transactions, and auditor choice: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 1-19.
    11. He, Lerong & Wan, Hong & Zhou, Xin, 2014. "How are political connections valued in China? Evidence from market reaction to CEO succession," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 141-152.
    12. Emmanuelle Nys & Amine Tarazi & Irwan Trinugroho, 2013. "Political Connections, Bank Deposits, and Formal Deposit Insurance: Evidence from an Emerging Economy," Working Papers hal-00916513, HAL.
    13. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz & Podgórski, Błażej & Winkler-Drews, Tadeusz, 2020. "Do political connections shield from negative shocks? Evidence from rating changes in advanced emerging economies," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    14. Zhong-qin Su & Hung-Gay Fung, 2013. "Political Connections and Firm Performance in Chinese Companies," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 283-317, August.
    15. Zhi Wang & Geert Braam & Daniel Reimsbach & Jiaxin Wang, 2020. "Political embeddedness and firms’ choices of earnings management strategies in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(5), pages 4723-4755, December.
    16. Banerji, Sanjay & Duygun, Meryem & Shaban, Mohamed, 2018. "Political connections, bailout in financial markets and firm value," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 388-401.
    17. Habib, Ahsan & Muhammadi, Abdul Haris & Jiang, Haiyan, 2017. "Political Connections and Related Party Transactions: Evidence from Indonesia," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-63.
    18. Jia, Ning & Mao, Xinshu & Yuan, Rongli, 2019. "Political connections and directors' and officers' liability insurance – Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 353-372.
    19. Hu, Rui & Karim, Khondkar & Lin, Karen Jingrong & Tan, Jinsong, 2020. "Do investors want politically connected independent directors? Evidence from their forced resignations in China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    20. Chkir, Imed & Gallali, Mohamed Imen & Toukabri, Manara, 2020. "Political connections and corporate debt: Evidence from two U.S. election campaigns," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 229-239.

    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:83:y:2018:i:c:p:138-150. 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.