Research On The Relationship Between Motivation Of Corporate Social Responsibility,Media Attention And Earnings Management Of Listed Companies

With the economic growth and the country's vigorous promotion of green development,China has paid more attention to corporate social responsibilities,and more companies have assumed social responsibilities.However,the motivation behind the fulfillment of corporate social responsibilities needs to be further explored,which can contribute to the formulation of policies and promote the fulfillment of corporate social responsibility.By studying the relationship between corporate social responsibility and earnings management,we can find out whether the corporate social responsibility is motivated by moral or opportunistic motives.When a company is affected by media attention,it remains to be studied whether the original intention of the company to fulfill its social responsibility will change.Therefore,the influence of media attention on the relationship between corporate social responsibility and earnings management will also be considered.Taking into account the particularity of the nature of China's enterprises,the sample will be divided into state-owned enterprises and non-stateowned enterprises to verify the difference in the relationship between them.Firstly,the relevant literature on corporate social responsibility,earnings management and media attention is sorted out and summarized.Secondly,based on theoretical analysis,multiple linear regression models are established,using China's 2,310 listed companies from 2015 to2019 as the sample companies.Further more,the sample is divided into two groups through the form of property rights to observe the difference in the relationship between social responsibility and earnings management,as well as the mediating role of media attention.Finally,the conclusions are verified through typical cases.The empirical results show that corporate social responsibility is negatively related to earnings management in China.Companies perform their corporate social responsibilities out of moral motives,especially non-state-owned enterprises,their social responsibilities are negatively related to accrued earnings management and real earnings management.However,corporate social responsibility is negatively related to real earnings management,but not significantly related to accrued earnings management when it comes to state-owned enterprises.This may be due to the fact that state-owned enterprises' own financial statement data is relatively real and the degree of accrued earnings management is relatively low.And when the company is affected by the external factor of media attention,the company's motivation to fulfill its corporate social responsibility will change: the higher the media attention the company receives,the weaker the negative correlation between social responsibility and earnings management.In other words,the moral motives of enterprises will be reduced,and enterprises will have a fluke mentality,using the fulfillment of social responsibilities to promote their own positive image through the media,and thus relax the control of earnings manipulation.This phenomenon is especially obvious in non-state-owned enterprises,but not in state-owned enterprises.It may be because that state-owned enterprises are also subject to supervision by other government agencies,and their long-term interests and corporate survival are relatively less affected by media reports.According to the research results,corresponding opinions and suggestions to enterprises,media workers,investment decision makers and government regulatory agencies are put forward,in order to achieve the dual purpose of promoting the growth of Chinese corporate value and safeguarding the overall interests of society.