When Bad News Strikes: How the Scope and Duration of Negative Performance Feedback Shape R&D Manipulation
ABSTRACT The relationship between performance feedback and risk‐taking has been widely examined within the behavioral theory of the firm. However, how performance feedback influences firms' R&D manipulation remains unclear. This study argues that negative performance feedback plays a critical role in shaping R&D manipulation behavior. Using panel data from Chinese A‐share listed manufacturing firms from 2009 to 2019, we find that the scope of negative performance feedback is positively associated with R&D manipulation, while the duration of negative performance feedback is negatively associated with R&D manipulation. Furthermore, CEO tenure weakens both the positive effect of feedback scope and the negative effect of feedback duration on R&D manipulation. In contrast, CEO career horizon amplifies the positive effect of feedback scope on R&D manipulation. These findings enrich the performance feedback literature by introducing a new behavioral outcome and offer theoretical insights for firms aiming to curb such opportunistic behavior.
Authors
- Ao Zan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8888-3121)
- Shiyi Tang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3605-5153)
- Chuyue Ren
Institutions
- Hunan Institute of Engineering (CN)
- Changsha University of Science and Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management
- Published
- 2026-04-22
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.70602
- Primary Topic
- Firm Innovation and Growth
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province
- Scientific Research Foundation of Hunan Provincial Education Department