摘要
研发投入波动是管理层“间断平衡双元”以适应复杂环境的健康行为。创新包容是指投资者对创新主体的创新行为进行的认可和包容。由于对创新的包容性不足,研发投入波动更可能被投资者视作是风险信号:一方面研发投入急剧增加意味着短期利润巨幅减少;另一方面研发投入急剧降低意味着未来竞争力不足。本文以上市公司为例,研究公司管理层在研发投入波动过程中,对财务报告中的盈余信息和年报中的创新文本信息进行策略性披露,目的是寻求资本市场的创新包容。研究发现:(1)研发投入正向波动过程中,由于短期业绩压力,管理层会进行向上盈余管理,并且创新文本信息更加彰显创新禀赋和创新成果,获得资本市场对于公司创新的包容;(2)研发投入负向波动过程中,管理层会进行向下盈余管理,以便为未来储备利润,并且创新文本信息更加凸显创新进展、聚焦创新目标,从而增强投资者对于公司创新的信心和包容。本研究拓展了信息披露操纵的成因,也向资本市场创新包容提出了呼吁与探索。
According to previous literature,R&D investment fluctuation represents the process of enterprises actively adapting to the environment,pursuing innovation and gaining competitive advantage.It is a trade-off behavior under the choice of management strategy and an inevitable choice in the process of enterprise innovation and development.However,from the perspective of capital market,R&D investment fluctuations have important implications.On the one hand,in the process of radical innovation,a large increase in R&D investment means a decrease in short-term earnings.On the other hand,in the process of exploitive innovation,the substantial reduction of R&D investment,although conducive to the improvement of short-term earnings,means the lack of future competitiveness.How to avoid the negative market reaction caused by the fluctuation of R&D investment is an important practical issue to be solved in the process of enterprise innovation and development.To begin with,in the upward fluctuation process of R&D investment,radical innovation means no short-term profit and is difficult to be accepted by investors for two reasons.The first is investors’short-term profit-seeking motivation.Compared with mature investors(institutional investors)in Western mature countries who focus on value appreciation,investors in China’s capital markets(mainly retail investors)pay more attention to profit-grabbing and short-term interests.The second is delisting risk.The negative performance growth under radical innovation is likely to face the risk of being eliminated by the capital market because it hits the delisting bottom line.It is difficult to match the R&D cycle of radical innovation with the derivative law of capital finance.The capital market attaches great importance to the annual financial indicators while the scientific and technological innovation needs a long time.Then,in the downward fluctuation process of R&D investment,exploitive innovation is beneficial to the stability of financial indicators,but it is hard to be accepted by capital markets.There are two reasons.First,from the perspective of investors,scientific and technological innovation should maintain continuous and stable investment to ensure the success of research and development.Second,there is evaluation pressure from third-party institutions.Companies with sharply reduced R&D investment may attract more third-party institutions(analysts,media,bond ratings,etc.).Securities analysts in China’s capital markets have a more serious herding effect.The relevant information disclosed by financial analysis institutions and news media has a great impact on the capital markets.The negative information is superimposed on the stock price,leading to the stock crash.Using Chinese A-share listed companies from 2016 to 2018 as samples,this paper examines how enterprises strategically disclose the earnings(number)information in financial statements and the innovation(text)information in management discussion and analysis(MD&A)to obtain the innovation tolerance of investors in the process of R&D investment fluctuation.Specifically,the research results of this paper are as follows.(1)When R&D investment fluctuates positively,the management will make upward earnings management.Meanwhile,MD&A innovation information disclosure highlights innovation endowment and innovation results,so as to enhance investors’confidence in short-term earnings and gain investors’tolerance for radical innovation.(2)When R&D investment fluctuates negatively,the management will make downward earnings management to reserve earnings for future.Moreover,MD&A innovation information disclosure highlights innovation progress and innovation goals,aiming to enhance investors’confidence in future earnings,so as to gain investors’confidence and tolerance for exploitive innovation.Based on the characteristics of China’s capital market,this paper proposes the motivation of innovation tolerance,which is a reasonable explanation for the management performance manipulation after the fluctuation of enterprise R&D investment.Under the situation of drastic fluctuation of R&D investment,the management has to manipulate earnings to cater to the capital markets,which reflects the helplessness and bitterness behind scientific and technological innovation.The earnings management behavior is more likely for the purpose of healthy development of the company,rather than opportunism,and it is the miserable action of the management to seek innovation tolerance in the capital markets.This paper helps stakeholders to understand the motivation of information disclosure manipulation in the context of fluctuating R&D investment,and calls for attention to innovation tolerance in the capital markets.
作者
程新生
武琼
修浩鑫
柳扬
CHENG Xinsheng;WU Qiong;XIU Haoxin;LIU Yang(Business School,Nankai University;Research Center on Corporate Governance,Nankai University;School of Management,Lanzhou University)
出处
《经济研究》
CSSCI
北大核心
2022年第6期191-208,共18页
Economic Research Journal
基金
国家自然科学基金项目(71972105,71672085)的资助
关键词
研发投入波动
盈余管理
创新信息披露
创新包容
R&D Investment Fluctuation
Earnings Management
Innovation Information Disclosure
Innovation Tolerance
作者简介
程新生,南开大学商学院、南开大学中国公司治理研究院,邮政编码:300071,电子信箱:xinsheng86@126.com;通讯作者:武琼,兰州大学管理学院,邮政编码:730000,电子信箱:wuqiong2117@126.com;修浩鑫,南开大学商学院,邮政编码:300071,电子信箱:xiuhaoxin@mail.nankai.edu.cn;柳扬,南开大学商学院,邮政编码:300071,电子信箱:liuyang9577@163.com。
