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The Tone from Above: The Effect of Communicating a Supportive Regulatory Strategy on Reporting Quality

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  • SANNE R. VAN DUIN
  • HENRI C. DEKKER
  • JACCO L. WIELHOUWER
  • JUAN P. MENDOZA

Abstract

In collaboration with the Authority for the Financial Markets in the Netherlands, we manipulate the content of official letters that instruct financial intermediaries to submit a mandatory self‐assessment. As part of the Registered Report Process, we submitted our hypotheses, experimental procedure, and planned statistical analyses before data collection. We predicted that a request indicating a supportive regulatory attitude has a positive effect on reporting quality on average. We also predicted this effect to be stronger for small firms and for firms with a long‐term orientation, and to become negative for firms with a short‐term orientation. Planned analyses show that a supportive letter reduced reporting quality unless firms had a long‐term orientation, supporting the moderating influence of time horizon, but providing no support for the expected average effect or for moderation by firm size.

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  • Sanne R. Van Duin & Henri C. Dekker & Jacco L. Wielhouwer & Juan P. Mendoza, 2018. "The Tone from Above: The Effect of Communicating a Supportive Regulatory Strategy on Reporting Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 467-519, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:56:y:2018:i:2:p:467-519
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12205
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    1. Jeroen van der Heijden, 2021. "Why meta‐research matters to regulation and governance scholarship: An illustrative evidence synthesis of responsive regulation research," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(S1), pages 123-142, November.
    2. Peytcheva, Marietta, 2023. "He, him, his: Masculine language in professional guidance and assessed equity and inclusion of women and LGBTQ+ people in the profession," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Robert Bloomfield & Kristina Rennekamp & Blake Steenhoven, 2018. "No System Is Perfect: Understanding How Registration‐Based Editorial Processes Affect Reproducibility and Investment in Research Quality," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(2), pages 313-362, May.

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