Digital Commons Network^™

Conflict Or Alignment? The Role Of Return-Oriented Foreign Shareholders And Domestic Relational Shareholders In Mitigating Earnings Management, Toru Yoshikawa, Ignacio P. Requejo, Asli Colpan, Daisuke Uchida

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This study investigates the effects of foreign return-oriented shareholders and domestic relational shareholders of Japanese companies on the earnings management behavior of their invested firms when stock option pay is adopted. We theorize that foreign shareholders seek short-term returns and do not engage in close monitoring due to an information disadvantage while domestic shareholders prevent managerial behavior that distorts information disclosure. Our findings show that managers of firms that use stock option pay engage in earnings management to increase their private financial benefits and meet capital markets’ expectations, which allows them to enhance their own reputation. However, this managerial behavior …