Dialectical reflections on collectivism: Does the Long March Imprint of executives influence financial decisions?—Empirical evidence from China

The Long March constitutes a significant cultural symbol in modern Chinese history; however, its influence on micro-level corporate behavior remains underexplored. Grounded in imprinting theory, this study exploits the 80th anniversary commemoration of the Long March victory as an exogenous shock to construct a natural experiment. Using data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2010 to 2021 and employing a difference-in-differences approach, the impact of executives’ Long March imprint on corporate earnings management is examined. The findings reveal that, from 2016 onward, firms whose executives were born in regions along the Long March route exhibit a significant reduction in earnings management, indicating that the Long March imprint suppresses earnings manipulation behavior. Further analysis demonstrates that the Long March spirit curbs earnings management through two channels: the cultivation of corporate culture and the restraint of managerial self-interest. Heterogeneous effects are observed with respect to external cultural shocks, market attention, government-market relations, and executives’ educational attainment. By introducing cultural memory into the analytical framework of executive decision-making, this study offers a novel perspective on the cultural determinants of corporate earnings management.