本研究旨在探討融資限制與盈餘管理策略如何影響企業之創新策略造成影響。過去研究指出由於會計資訊品質可以降低企業與投資人間資訊不對稱之問題，因此會計資訊品質將影響企業之投資效率。專利權投資更是如此，由於專利權之投資的對未來營收及企業成長之不確定性，更需要企業提供良好之會計資訊品質以降低資訊的不對稱性。除此之外，融資限制也可能會對管理當局之盈餘管理策略造成影響。藉由提高盈餘的穩定性可以顯示企業擁有較佳的能力以支持其日常營運活動並提高外部資金的機會。然而，過去研究指出，實質盈餘管理與應計項目盈餘管理對於現金流量有不一致的影響，同時我們也發現融資限制與企業創新策略為企業衡量盈餘管理策略之主要因素。當企業向外部取得專利權時，其對於現金流量波動的敏感度較小，因此，當企業面臨融資限制的情況下，規避外部監督機制理當成為企業選擇盈餘管理策略的主要衡量因素。然而，當企業內部進行自主研發活動時，穩定的現金流量投入與規避外部監督機制將會同時影響企業如何選擇其盈餘管理策略。

This paper examines how financial constraint and earnings quality affect innovation strategies. Previous literatures document that earnings management mainly affects accounting information quality. Financial constraint may motivate managers to manage earnings. Managing earnings for reducing the earnings volatility demonstrates that firms have ability for supporting their regular activities and attract external funding opportunities. Cohen and Zarowin (2010) indicate that conducting real earnings management can avoid the outside monitoring mechanism, but increase cash flow inconsistency. In contrast, conducting accrual based earnings management can avoid cash flow inconsistency, but increase the possibility detection of outside monitoring mechanism. We argue that the executives of managers will consider financial constraint and the innovation strategies, when they choose different earnings management strategies. Our findings imply that financial constraint and innovation investment strategies are the main factors for selection of earnings management strategies. Conducting patent purchasing activities have less sensitive on cash flow consistency. Therefore, when firms have financial constraint, avoiding the detection from outside monitoring mechanism is the primary concern by conducting real earnings management activities. However, when firms have financial constraint and high in-house patenting activities, the concern of avoiding the detection from outside will force the executives to conduct real earnings management activities for misleading investors’ expectation. But those may also consider accrual earnings management activities for avoiding cash flow inconsistency problem from conducting real earnings management activities.

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