ABSTRACT

Using the firm-level labor union data unique to Korea, this study examines the influence of labor unions on firms’ income smoothing activities through R&D expense adjustment. We show that unionized firms have greater extent of income smoothing through R&D adjustment, suggesting that labor unions impose pressure on management to smooth out fluctuation in earnings path. Also, we find evidence that the positive association between labor union and income smoothing via R&D expense is significant only for non-chaebol firms. These findings add to the existing literature on the impact of labor unions, one of important stakeholders, on firms’ accounting choices and financial reporting behavior.

摘要

本研究使用韩国特有的企业级工会数据，通过调整研发费用来检验工会对企业收入平滑活动的影响。我们表明，加入工会的公司通过研发调整有更大程度的收入平滑，这表明工会向管理层施加压力以平滑盈利路径的波动。此外，我们发现有证据表明，工会与通过研发费用平滑收入之间的正相关关系仅对非财阀公司显着。这些发现增加了关于工会（重要利益相关者之一）对公司会计选择和财务报告行为的影响的现有文献。