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The Dog that Did Not Bark: Limited Price Efficiency and Strategic Nondisclosure

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  • FRANK S. ZHOU
  • YUQING ZHOU

Abstract

Theory posits that investors can rationally infer the implications of strategic nondisclosure for firm value, pressuring managers to disclose information voluntarily. This study documents that the lack of an earnings guidance predicts an abnormal return of −41 basis points around the subsequent quarterly earnings announcement, suggesting that investors do not fully incorporate the implications of nonguidance. Further analyses demonstrate that limitations in price efficiency, driven by investors' limited attention and short‐selling constraints, explain the mispricing of nonguidance and are associated with less guidance issuance. Our results collectively highlight limited price efficiency as another friction when studying managers' strategic disclosure decisions.

Suggested Citation

  • Frank S. Zhou & Yuqing Zhou, 2020. "The Dog that Did Not Bark: Limited Price Efficiency and Strategic Nondisclosure," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 155-197, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:58:y:2020:i:1:p:155-197
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12296
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    Cited by:

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    3. Bertomeu, Jeremy & Marinovic, Iván & Terry, Stephen J. & Varas, Felipe, 2022. "The dynamics of concealment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 143(1), pages 227-246.
    4. Yanan Li & Wenjun Wang, 2022. "Company visits and mutual fund performance: new evidence on managerial skills," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 23(6), pages 504-521, October.
    5. Aghamolla, Cyrus & An, Byeong-Je, 2021. "Voluntary disclosure with evolving news," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 140(1), pages 21-53.
    6. Cyrus Aghamolla & Carlos Corona & Ronghuo Zheng, 2021. "No reliance on guidance: counter‐signaling in management forecasts," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 52(1), pages 207-245, March.
    7. Belnap, Andrew, 2023. "The effect of intermediary coverage on disclosure: Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(1).
    8. Paul Fischer & Chongho Kim & Frank Zhou, 2022. "Disagreement about fundamentals: measurement and consequences," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 1423-1456, December.
    9. Brennan, Niamh M. & Edgar, Victoria C. & Power, Sean Bradley, 2022. "COVID-19 profit warnings: Delivering bad news in a time of crisis," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    10. Tom Lane & Minghai Zhou, 2022. "Failure of unravelling theory? A natural field experiment on voluntary quality disclosure," Discussion Papers 2022-17, The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham.

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