Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting最新文献

We study the influence of locally-rooted directors (LRDs)—board members with personal ties to a company’s geographic location—on firm performance. On the one hand, LRDs may provide valuable local know-how and access to local networks. On the other hand, as their appointments may go back to social ties with insiders (e.g., corporate directors, top executives, or large shareholders), LRDs may be used to extract rents and lack relevant experience, business skills, and independence. Using the directors’ alma mater as a proxy for local roots, LRDs turn out to be heavily overrepresented, making up 30% of all directors in our sample. We show that LRDs are negatively related to Tobin’s Q. However, this finding does not apply to domestically-oriented companies, i.e., firms without material foreign sales, and firms in regulated industries. Thus, while the results indicate that LRDs harm firm performance on average, their presence may be optimal in some cases.

Based on a sample of companies from G7 countries, we investigate the effect of eco-innovation on waste management as well as the moderating role of firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) on this relationship. Our findings indicate that a higher level of eco-innovation might lead to a decline in firms’ total waste produced and an increase in firms’ magnitude of reusing and recycling waste. Likewise, our findings are associative with a moderating effect of ESG on the eco-innovation-waste management nexus. We argue that eco-innovation, along with better ESG performance, leads to a reduction in waste produced and thus better business waste management. Our study has several implications on micro- and macroeconomic levels. Countries should revisit their national strategies and domestic policies about circular economies to form international alliances and embrace more technological development.

This paper examines the relationship between product life cycle and book-to-market effect on cross-sectional stock returns. While previous papers suggest that the book-to-market effect is related to a firm’s market value and fundamental value, this paper examines the product life cycle, which directly affects future cash flows. We find that the book-to-market effect is stronger for firms with a long product life cycle, which is consistent with the mispricing story in explaining the book-to-market effect. We further find that the role of product life cycle is more critical for firms with high investor limited attention, and that the product life cycle in part explains intangible returns.

This study focuses on potential inhibiting and driving factors of corporate social responsibility (CSR) controversies including board monitoring intensity and audit committee quality with a particular focus on risky firms. We draw on agency, resource dependence, and slack financial resources theories to explain this association. Using an international sample between 2002–2019 and executing fixed-effects regression and Hayes’s moderation analysis methodology, we find that risky firms tend to commit more CSR controversies. Furthermore, CSR performance, firm complexity, and indebtedness exacerbate CSR controversies, whereas larger boards mitigate them. Moreover, while board monitoring intensity and audit committee quality do not prevent committing CSR controversies in absolute terms, they alleviate risky firms' CSR controversies tendency. The findings confirm agency theory and the monitoring function of the board in mitigating CSR controversies. In line with the resource dependence theory, audit committees’ independent members and members with different skills and expertise provide critical resources that help prevent CSR controversies.

Using a narrow view of accounting experience, this study examines the relationship between accounting experience on audit committees (ACs) and key audit matters (KAMs) in the UK. In contrast to extant research, this study distinguishes between different types of accounting experience on AC and how this relates to different types of KAMs. We also address the effects of the interplay between accounting and supervisory experiences on KAMs. Using a sample from FTSE 350, we provide robust evidence that accounting experience on ACs is an important driver of extended audit reporting quality. Moreover, we find evidence that different types of accounting experience have mostly similar effects on different types of KAMs. Further, we show that AC members with prior supervisory experience complement the role of accounting experience. Nevertheless, this complementary relationship varies between types of KAMs. Overall, our study offers important insights regarding how accounting and supervisory experience on ACs is associated with the quality of KAMs reported in the extended reports. Our results are robust to alternative sampling, model specifications, and endogeneity concerns.

This study explores the concept of reference dependence in decision-making behavior, particularly in the realm of investment portfolios. Previous research has established that an individual’s own circumstances and societal surroundings play a pivotal role in shaping their perception of risk. However, there has been limited exploration into the dynamic nature of reference points in investment decision-making. To address this gap in the literature, the current study is aimed at investigating the performances of relevant dynamic reference points in investment portfolios. In doing so, the personal experience and upward pacesetter reference points are established, and a comparative robust portfolio model incorporating the CVaR measure is utilized. The impacts of different reference behaviors on the proposed portfolio model’s performance are also examined. Furthermore, to enhance the portfolio model’s out-of-sample performance, a scenario formation method that leverages clustering techniques is proposed. The performances of several clustering methods, including classic hierarchical and spectral clustering, as well as reciprocal-nearest-neighbors supported clustering, are compared. The empirical results indicate that the positive behavior of the personal experience reference point yields a better expected return, while the negative behavior exhibits a lower level of risk. Moreover, the results suggest that the utilization of spectral clustering can significantly improve the out-of-sample performance of the proposed robust portfolio model.

We investigate the empirical relation between country governance quality and stock market liquidity, as well as information asymmetry, using a sample of non-U.S. stocks from 17 emerging markets listed on the NYSE between 2004 and 2019. We find that non-U.S. stocks from emerging markets with higher democracy quality tend to have narrower spreads and larger depth, suggesting improved liquidity. Higher autocracy levels, on the other hand, are associated with wider spreads and lower depth, indicating poorer liquidity. Additionally, stronger democracy and polity qualities are linked to reduced price impact, while heightened autocracy levels are associated with increased price impact and a higher probability of informed trading. Moreover, we show that changes in our liquidity and information asymmetry measures significantly relate to changes in the country governance index over time. Our results remain remarkably robust across regions and when using different measures of liquidity and information-based trading.

This paper investigates the impact of manager-investor interaction quality on stock returns by utilizing an online IPO roadshow dataset and leveraging a word-embedding model. We find that such interactions are positively valued, as reflected in initial returns. The effect is particularly pronounced for firms characterized by higher levels of information asymmetry, greater investor attention, increased question uncertainty, or discussions on topics not covered in prospectus. Additionally, our research reveals that effective management communication leads to increased first-day turnover rates and thus higher returns. These heightened returns persist up to 180 days following the IPO, without displaying a significant long-term reversal associated with interaction quality. These findings underscore the meaningful impact of the quality of manager-investor interactions on firm valuation.

This study examines how a stock security’s cash flow duration impacts stock price reactions at earnings announcements. We find that stock price reactions are positively associated with cash flow duration, especially when earnings surprises are negative. Our results imply that long duration creates a leverage effect that magnifies the price reaction around earnings announcements. We further show that the greater stock price reaction for firms with longer cash flow duration could be caused by less accurate analyst forecasts and short-sales constraints. Finally, we find that the effect of cash flow duration generally increases over time, being more notable during financial crisis and less notable when investor sentiment is high.

Utilizing firms in the S&P 500, we study whether greater transparency in the reporting of other comprehensive income (OCI) items, as mandated by ASU 2011-05, resulted in a reduction in information asymmetry, a change in the value relevance of this information, or a change in hedging practice. Our results show that while transparent reporting reduced information asymmetry, firms that engage in cash flow hedging do have greater information asymmetry than their counterparts that do not hedge. We find evidence that investors penalize firm value for greater volatility of OCI relative to net income volatility when reported transparently. When permitted, managers were able to mitigate the negative impact by reporting OCI only in the Statement of Shareholders’ Equity. We conclude that managers’ concerns regarding potential confusion surrounding OCI volatility following more prominent reporting led to changes in hedging behavior. After transparent reporting, we find a reduced likelihood of foreign currency cash flow (FXCF) hedges and a reduced level of FXCF hedging among firms experiencing the greatest volatility of unrealized hedging gains and losses.