IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v49y2022ics1544612322002884.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Silence is golden? Responses to rumors by Chinese listed firms

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Kaiyi
  • Yuan, Xianghui
  • Wang, Chen
  • Hou, Wenxuan

Abstract

Rumors are common in capital markets and firms face a strategic decision of whether or not to respond to them. This research explores the implications of official response to rumors and find that responded firms tend to experience enforcement actions against corporate fraud and lawsuits. The results are concentrated on private firms. Our results are in line with the agency theory interpretation of firms’ response to rumors.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Kaiyi & Yuan, Xianghui & Wang, Chen & Hou, Wenxuan, 2022. "Silence is golden? Responses to rumors by Chinese listed firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:49:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322002884
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2022.103055
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612322002884
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2022.103055?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agarwal, Puneet & Aziz, Ridwan Al & Zhuang, Jun, 2022. "Interplay of rumor propagation and clarification on social media during crisis events - A game-theoretic approach," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 298(2), pages 714-733.
    2. Chou, Hsin-I & Tian, Gloria Y. & Yin, Xiangkang, 2015. "Takeover rumors: Returns and pricing of rumored targets," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 13-27.
    3. Jensen, Michael C. & Meckling, William H., 1976. "Theory of the firm: Managerial behavior, agency costs and ownership structure," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 3(4), pages 305-360, October.
    4. Jia, Weishi & Redigolo, Giulia & Shu, Susan & Zhao, Jingran, 2020. "Can social media distort price discovery? Evidence from merger rumors," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1).
    5. Wenxuan Hou & Geoff Moore, 2010. "Player and Referee Roles Held Jointly: The Effect of State Ownership on China’s Regulatory Enforcement Against Fraud," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 95(2), pages 317-335, September.
    6. Alperovych, Yan & Cumming, Douglas & Czellar, Veronika & Groh, Alexander, 2021. "M&A rumors about unlisted firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1324-1339.
    7. Betton, Sandra & Davis, Frederick & Walker, Thomas, 2018. "Rumor rationales: The impact of message justification on article credibility," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 271-287.
    8. Fama, Eugene F & Jensen, Michael C, 1983. "Separation of Ownership and Control," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 26(2), pages 301-325, June.
    9. Kenneth R. Ahern & Denis Sosyura, 2015. "Rumor Has It: Sensationalism in Financial Media," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 28(7), pages 2050-2093.
    10. Xiaolan Yang & Yongli Luo, 2014. "Rumor Clarification and Stock Returns: Do Bull Markets Behave Differently from Bear Markets?," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(1), pages 197-209, January.
    11. Fama, Eugene F, 1980. "Agency Problems and the Theory of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 88(2), pages 288-307, April.
    12. Jun Wang & Zhilong Xie & Qing Li & Jinghua Tan & Rong Xing & Yuanzhu Chen & Fengyun Wu, 2019. "Effect of Digitalized Rumor Clarification on Stock Markets," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(2), pages 450-474, January.
    13. Jia, Ming & Ruan, Hongfei & Zhang, Zhe, 2017. "How rumors fly," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 33-45.
    14. Admati, Anat R & Pfleiderer, Paul, 1990. "Direct and Indirect Sale of Information," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(4), pages 901-928, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wu, Chunying & Xiong, Xiong & Gao, Ya & Zhang, Jin, 2022. "Does social media distort price discovery? Evidence from rumor clarifications," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    2. Alperovych, Yan & Cumming, Douglas & Czellar, Veronika & Groh, Alexander, 2021. "M&A rumors about unlisted firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(3), pages 1324-1339.
    3. Rihab Grassa & Nejia Moumen & Khaled Hussainey, 2021. "What drives risk disclosure in Islamic and conventional banks? An international comparison," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 6338-6361, October.
    4. Andres, Christian & Bazhutov, Dmitry & Cumming, Douglas J. & Limbach, Peter, 2023. "Does speculative news hurt productivity? Evidence from takeover rumors," CFS Working Paper Series 701, Center for Financial Studies (CFS).
    5. Shaikh, Ibrahim A. & O'Brien, Jonathan Paul & Peters, Lois, 2018. "Inside directors and the underinvestment of financial slack towards R&D-intensity in high-technology firms," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 192-201.
    6. Etienne Redor & Magnus Blomkvist, 2021. "Do all inside and affiliated directors hold the same value for shareholders?," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 41(3), pages 882-895.
    7. Martin Kyere & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Corporate governance and firms financial performance in the United Kingdom," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(2), pages 1871-1885, April.
    8. Tleubayev, Alisher & Bobojonov, Ihtiyor & Gagalyuk, Taras & Glauben, Thomas, 2020. "Board gender diversity and firm performance: Evidence from the Russian agri-food industry," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 23(1), pages 35-53.
    9. Ferrell, Allen & Liang, Hao & Renneboog, Luc, 2016. "Socially responsible firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(3), pages 585-606.
    10. Wu, Chloe Yu-Hsuan & Hsu, Hwa-Hsien & Haslam, Jim, 2016. "Audit committees, non-audit services, and auditor reporting decisions prior to failure," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 240-256.
    11. Nazmoon Akhter, 2021. "Assessing the Relationship between Efficiency, Capital and Risk of Commercial Banks in Bangladesh," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 14(1), pages 1-55, July.
    12. Yusuf, Fatima & Yousaf, Amna & Saeed, Abubakr, 2018. "Rethinking agency theory in developing countries: A case study of Pakistan," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(4), pages 281-292.
    13. Mouna Mrad & Slaheddine Hallara, 2014. "The Relationship Between the Board of Directors and the Performance/Value Creation in a Context of Privatization: The Case of French Companies," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 83-108, March.
    14. Chia-Ying Chan & Iftekhar Hasan & Chih-Yung Lin, 2021. "Agency cost of CEO perquisites in bank loan contracts," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 56(4), pages 1221-1258, May.
    15. Jackie Krafft & Jacques-Laurent Ravix, 2008. "Corporate Governance in Advanced Economies: Lessons in a Post Financial Crash Era.. Introduction to the Special Issue," Recherches économiques de Louvain, De Boeck Université, vol. 74(4), pages 419-424.
    16. John Becker-Blease & Afshad Irani, 2008. "Do corporate governance attributes affect adverse selection costs? Evidence from seasoned equity offerings," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 30(3), pages 281-296, April.
    17. Bing Wang & Si Xu & Kung-Cheng Ho & I-Ming Jiang & Hung-Yi Huang, 2019. "Information Disclosure Ranking, Industry Production Market Competition, and Mispricing: An Empirical Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, January.
    18. Nadejda SERDIUC & Hanen KHEMAKHEM, 2015. "The Impact of SOX Adoption on the Compensation of Non-US Companies’ Boards: The Case of Canadian Companies," Expert Journal of Business and Management, Sprint Investify, vol. 3(2), pages 182-188.
    19. Wiwattanakantang, Yupana, 1999. "An empirical study on the determinants of the capital structure of Thai firms," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 7(3-4), pages 371-403, August.
    20. Agarwal, Vikas & Daniel, Naveen D. & Naik, Narayan Y., 2009. "Role of managerial incentives and discretion in hedge fund performance," CFR Working Papers 04-04, University of Cologne, Centre for Financial Research (CFR).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Rumor; Information environment; Corporate governance; Fraud; Lawsuit;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:49:y:2022:i:c:s1544612322002884. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.