The impact of birth order among descendant family CEOs on family firm earnings management

This study investigates the impact of descendant family CEOs’ birth order on upward earnings management. Based on a sample of public family firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange from 2000 to 2015, we find that non-first-son descendant CEOs have greater incentives to frame performance in a better light and positively influence stakeholder perceptions compared to their first-son counterparts. Our findings shed insight into how descendant family CEOs may in fact face differing pressures as a family heir and that birth order creates a divergence in their tangible efforts to overcome such challenges.