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AbstractThis study explores whether and how the management manipulates the tone of CSR reports to greenwash earnings management. Using the dataset of Chinese A‐share companies that published CSR reports over period 2007–2017, we discover that corporates with higher abnormal discretionary accruals and those with zero or slightly positive earnings changes are likely to release CSR reports with a more optimistic tone. Additional analyses show that this greenwash behavior is stronger when the management manages earnings upward than downward. Furthermore, the supplementary association between CSR report tone and earnings management is reduced in firms with assured CSR reports, lower financing demands and equity issue, higher accounting conservatism, as well as a better information disclosure environment, whereas the relationship is not correlated with the manner of the reporting disclosure. This study reveals that managers strategically employ CSR report tone to hide earnings management and shape stakeholders' expectations, and provides insights into both qualitative and quantitative disclosure literature.

This paper uses 13,766 firm-year observations between 2003 and 2013 from China to investigate the effects of monetary policy on corporate investment and the mitigating effects of cash holding. We find that tightening monetary policy reduces corporate investment while cash holdings mitigate such adverse effects. The cash mitigating role is especially significant for financially constrained firms, non-state-owned enterprises (non-SOEs) and those firms located in a less developed financial market. Cash holding also improves investment efficiency when monetary policy is tightening and tightening monetary policy enhances the 'cash-cash flow' sensitivity. Our empirical evidence calls for a critical evaluation on the monetary policies implemented in China which are less effective for state-owned enterprises. It also calls for a necessity for local government to further develop regional financial markets to protect vulnerable businesses, such as non-SOEs and financially constrained firms, from external shocks in order to maintain their sustainable growth and competitive advantages.

AbstractManuscript TypeEmpiricalResearch IssueWe investigate the joint effects of family control and the regulatory environment on entrepreneurial growth through the lens of socio‐emotional wealth (SEW) theory.Research FindingsTaking into consideration both economic and non‐economic goals of entrepreneurial firms, measured by sales growth and employment growth respectively, we find that, compared to their non‐family‐controlled counterparts, family‐controlled firms tend to have lower sales growth rates, but higher employment growth rates. Furthermore, less favorable regulatory environments reduce both sales and workforce growth rates to a greater extent for family‐controlled firms than for non‐family‐controlled firms.Theoretical/Academic ImplicationsWe add to the corporate governance and family business management literature by documenting that the regulatory environment moderates the corporate governance effect of family control on the economic and non‐economic goals of family‐controlled firms. The findings also contribute to the family business management literature by enriching and providing strong evidence in favor of the SEW theory through our exploration of the moderating role that macro‐governance plays in the family control‐SEW relation. This research also makes contributions to the entrepreneurship literature, laying a foundation for future empirical studies on entrepreneurial growth by separating its economic from its non‐economic dimensions.Practitioner/Policy ImplicationsOur findings provide practical implications for both policy makers and entrepreneurs. They not only help entrepreneurs better understand growth strategies in various macro‐governance settings, but also provide governments and policymakers with potential policy implications to encourage entrepreneurial and economic growth. Policies that improve the macro‐governance environment can help family firms to prosper by contributing to their economic and non‐economic growth, both of which are important for economic development.