真实盈余管理动机下的研发投资决策后果——基于创新和税收的分析视角

Decision-making Consequences of R&D Investment under Real Earnings Management Motivation:Based on the Analysis Perspective of Innovation and Taxation

本文利用我国2007-2013年"微利"和"微增"的A股上市公司数据,考察了盈余管理动机背景下减少研发投入对公司创新产出和税收负担的影响,并进一步检验了这种真实盈余管理行为与公司经营业绩和市场价值的关系,以及这种关系的强弱程度是否会因公司所处行业性质的不同而有所差异。研究发现,上市公司出于真实盈余管理动机削减研发支出,会减少其未来的创新产出并加重税收负担;在此基础上,这种行为会给公司未来经营业绩和市场价值带来负面影响,并且这种影响在高科技公司中更为显著。本研究对于全面深入理解削减研发支出的真实盈余管理行为的经济后果具有重要意义。

Employing Chinese A-share listed companies with ＂meager profits＂ and ＂meager increases＂ from 2007 to 2013 as the sample and taking the perspective of real earnings management, this study investigates into the impact of R＆D investment reduction on two important aspects of firm＇s economic consequences： innovation output and tax burden. Also, we further examine whether R＆D investment reduction, under the real earnings management motivation, affects firm＇s operating performance and market value. It is found that real earnings management of reducingR＆D expenditure will decrease companies＇ future innovation output and increase their tax burden. Further analyses show that it adversely influences companies＇ future operating performance and market value, meanwhile, this phenomenon is more significant in high-tech companies. Taken together, our findings provide deeper insight into the economic consequences the real earnings management by reducing R＆D expenditure results in. This study contributes to the literature in several ways. First, our research extends the existing literature on the economic consequences of real earnings management. We find that real earnings management of reducing R＆D expenditure in China＇s listed companies is negatively associated with their future performance and value, which is entirely contrary to that of Gunny （2010）. Combining the economic characteristics of R＆D activities, we have also analyzed the conclusion from the point of innovation and taxation. Hence, this research is beneficial to understand the consequences of real earnings management comprehensively. Second, in contrast to prior literature, we firstly take the perspective of innovation output and empirically find that reduction in future potential patents is an important economic consequence of real earnings management through R＆D investment decisions. Third, our empirical evidence shows that the real earnings management of reduction in R＆D expenditure will increase the actual tax burden of a company. Therefore, we find another important economic consequence of real earnings management from the point of tax burden. Previous research on R＆D, earnings management, and taxation viewed tax burden as a decision-making motivation of the management. However, the examination in our study, which uses the linkage framework of these three aspects, takes tax burden as a decisionmaking consequence and thus expands prior research. Fourth, our conclusions can help listed companies comprehensively and objectively review defects resulting from ＂profiting-maintenance＂ oriented reductions in R＆D investment at the critical point of profit, loss, and continuous growth and make rational decisions about R＆D investment and earnings management.