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The Effects Of National Culture On Earnings Management.
A cross-country study on the effects of national
culture on earnings management
Abstract
This study hypothesizes and tests whether the degree to which managers
exercise earnings discretion relates to their value system (i.e., culture) as well as
the institutional features (i.e., legal environment) of their country. We find that
uncertainty avoidance and individualism dimensions of national culture explain
managers’ earnings discretion across countries, and that this association varies
with the strength of investor protection. This study extends prior literature by
documenting that both national culture and institutional structure are
important factors that explain corporate managers’ earnings discretion
practices around the world, and that the influences of these factors on
earnings discretion are conditional on each other.
Journal of International Business Studies (2010) 41, 123–141.

