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How Do Market Prices and Cheap Talk Affect Coordination?

Journal of Accounting Research 2013 51(5), 1221-1260
In many scenarios such as banking and liquidity crises, inefficiencies often arise because investors face uncertainties about economic fundamentals and the strategies of other investors. How information affects fundamental uncertainty is well studied, but how information affects strategic uncertainty is underexplored. This paper examines how two communication mechanisms, market and cheap talk, affect investment decisions and efficiency in an experimental investment game with both fundamental and strategic uncertainty. I find that the market does not improve coordination because the expectation that coordination failures will occur is self‐fulfilling, while cheap talk improves coordination because the signals of willingness to invest alleviate strategic uncertainty.

Auditor Independence, Dismissal Threats, and the Market Reaction to Auditor Switches

Journal of Accounting Research 1992 30(1), 1 open access
The article presents information on the effect of auditor changes on security prices in both a mechanical decision rule and in the possibility that an adverse audit opinion may lead to dismissal. The analysis implies that the stock price response to the announcement of an auditor change depends on the preswitch audit opinion. The author contends that his research proves auditor switches can be good for investors and that even when they are costless, and there is no collusion between auditor and firm, market reaction can be negative.

Divergence of Cash Flow and Voting Rights, Opacity, and Stock Price Crash Risk: International Evidence

Journal of Accounting Research 2017 55(5), 1167-1212
This study investigates whether and how the deviation of cash flow rights (ownership) from voting rights (control), or simply the ownership‐control wedge, influences the likelihood that extreme negative outliers occur in stock return distributions, which we refer to as stock price crash risk. We do so using a comprehensive panel data set of firms with a dual‐class share structure from 20 countries around the world for the period of 1995–2007. We predict and find that opaque firms with a large wedge are more crash prone than opaque firms with a small wedge. In addition, we predict and find that the positive relation between the wedge and crash risk is less pronounced for firms with more effective external monitoring and for firms with greater growth opportunities. The results of this study are broadly consistent with Jin and Myers’s theory that agency costs, combined with opacity, exacerbate stock price crash risk.

Face Value: Trait Impressions, Performance Characteristics, and Market Outcomes for Financial Analysts

Journal of Accounting Research 2022 60(2), 653-705 open access
Using machine learning–based algorithms, we measure key impressions about sell‐side analysts using their LinkedIn photos. We find that impressions of analysts’ trustworthiness ( TRUST ) and dominance ( DOM ) are positively associated with forecast accuracy, especially after recent in‐person meetings between analysts and firm managers. High TRUST also enhances stock return sensitivity to forecast revisions, especially for stocks with high institutional ownership. In contrast, the impression of analysts’ attractiveness ( ATTRACT ) is only positively associated with accuracy for new analysts or when a firm has a new CEO or CFO. Furthermore, while high DOM helps male analysts’ chances of attaining All‐Star status, it reduces female analysts’ accuracy and the likelihood of winning the All‐Star award. In addition, the relation between TRUST and accuracy is modulated by the disclosure environment and is attenuated by Regulation Fair Disclosure. Our results suggest that face impressions influence analysts’ access to information and the perceived credibility of their reports.