IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/corfin/v68y2021ics0929119921000420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Online social networks and corporate investment similarity

Author

Listed:
  • Jing, Wei
  • Zhang, Xueyong

Abstract

This paper analyzes the relationship between online social networks and inter-firm investment similarity. Using mutual friendships of senior officers on Sina Weibo as proxies for online social connections, we find that companies, whose senior officers share online connections, exhibit more similar levels of capital investments. In addition, the baseline result is robust in subsamples of senior officers' first like on Weibo, and continue to hold for a battery of robustness and endogeneity tests. One possible underlying mechanism through which social networks influence corporate investment similarity is that senior officers learn privileged information from their social connections, which is supported by examining the interaction effect of analyst coverage and online social connections. We further show that this investment similarity is more pronounced in the condition that company pairs are connected by more reputable senior officers, or in the case of under-investing.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing, Wei & Zhang, Xueyong, 2021. "Online social networks and corporate investment similarity," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:corfin:v:68:y:2021:i:c:s0929119921000420
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2021.101921
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0929119921000420
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2021.101921?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. Grosman, Anna & Leiponen, Aija, 2018. "Organizational transparency and power in firm ownership networks," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1158-1177.
    2. Liu, Jianan & Stambaugh, Robert F. & Yuan, Yu, 2019. "Size and value in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(1), pages 48-69.
    3. Larcker, David F. & So, Eric C. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2013. "Boardroom centrality and firm performance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 225-250.
    4. Balsam, Steven & Kwack, So Yean & Lee, Jae Young, 2017. "Network connections, CEO compensation and involuntary turnover: The impact of a friend of a friend," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 220-244.
    5. Yael V. Hochberg & Alexander Ljungqvist & Yang Lu, 2007. "Whom You Know Matters: Venture Capital Networks and Investment Performance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 62(1), pages 251-301, February.
    6. Zhang, Dongyang & Guo, Yumei, 2019. "Financing R&D in Chinese private firms: Business associations or political connection?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 247-261.
    7. Lauren Cohen & Andrea Frazzini & Christopher Malloy, 2010. "Sell‐Side School Ties," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(4), pages 1409-1437, August.
    8. Lauren Cohen & Andrea Frazzini & Christopher Malloy, 2008. "The Small World of Investing: Board Connections and Mutual Fund Returns," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 116(5), pages 951-979, October.
    9. Masulis, Ronald W. & Wang, Cong & Xie, Fei, 2012. "Globalizing the boardroom—The effects of foreign directors on corporate governance and firm performance," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(3), pages 527-554.
    10. Biddle, Gary C. & Hilary, Gilles & Verdi, Rodrigo S., 2009. "How does financial reporting quality relate to investment efficiency?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2-3), pages 112-131, December.
    11. Gu, Chen & Kurov, Alexander, 2020. "Informational role of social media: Evidence from Twitter sentiment," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    12. Kelly Shue, 2013. "Executive Networks and Firm Policies: Evidence from the Random Assignment of MBA Peers," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 26(6), pages 1401-1442.
    13. Renneboog, Luc & Zhao, Yang, 2014. "Director networks and takeovers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 218-234.
    14. Cesare Fracassi & Geoffrey Tate, 2012. "External Networking and Internal Firm Governance," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 67(1), pages 153-194, February.
    15. Mao, Huina & Counts, Scott & Bollen, Johan, 2015. "Quantifying the effects of online bullishness on international financial markets," Statistics Paper Series 09, European Central Bank.
    16. Hwang, Byoung-Hyoun & Kim, Seoyoung, 2009. "It pays to have friends," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(1), pages 138-158, July.
    17. Liu, Qigui & Luo, Jinbo & Tian, Gary Gang, 2016. "Managerial professional connections versus political connections: Evidence from firms' access to informal financing resources," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 179-200.
    18. Grenadier, Steven R. & Wang, Neng, 2005. "Investment timing, agency, and information," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 493-533, March.
    19. Bizjak, John M. & Lemmon, Michael L. & Naveen, Lalitha, 2008. "Does the use of peer groups contribute to higher pay and less efficient compensation?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 152-168, November.
    20. Allen, Franklin & Qian, Jun & Qian, Meijun, 2005. "Law, finance, and economic growth in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(1), pages 57-116, July.
    21. Chuluun, Tuugi & Prevost, Andrew & Upadhyay, Arun, 2017. "Firm network structure and innovation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 193-214.
    22. Ferris, Stephen P. & Javakhadze, David & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2017. "CEO social capital, risk-taking and corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 46-71.
    23. Faleye, Olubunmi & Kovacs, Tunde & Venkateswaran, Anand, 2014. "Do Better-Connected CEOs Innovate More?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 49(5-6), pages 1201-1225, December.
    24. Akbas, Ferhat & Meschke, Felix & Wintoki, M. Babajide, 2016. "Director networks and informed traders," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 1-23.
    25. Engelberg, Joseph & Gao, Pengjie & Parsons, Christopher A., 2012. "Friends with money," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(1), pages 169-188.
    26. David Rakowski & Sara E. Shirley & Jeffrey R. Stark, 2021. "Twitter activity, investor attention, and the diffusion of information," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 50(1), pages 3-46, March.
    27. Bizjak, John & Lemmon, Michael & Nguyen, Thanh, 2011. "Are all CEOs above average? An empirical analysis of compensation peer groups and pay design," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(3), pages 538-555, June.
    28. Rawley Heimer, 2016. "Peer Pressure: Social Interaction and the Disposition Effect," Working Papers (Old Series) 1618, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.
    29. Javakhadze, David & Ferris, Stephen P. & French, Dan W., 2016. "Social capital, investments, and external financing," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 38-55.
    30. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    31. Kuang, Yu Flora & Lee, Gladys, 2017. "Corporate fraud and external social connectedness of independent directors," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 401-427.
    32. Guan, Yuyan & Su, Lixin (Nancy) & Wu, Donghui & Yang, Zhifeng, 2016. "Do school ties between auditors and client executives influence audit outcomes?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 506-525.
    33. Feng, Xunan & Johansson, Anders C., 2019. "Top executives on social media and information in the capital market: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 824-857.
    34. Houston, Joel F. & Lee, Jongsub & Suntheim, Felix, 2018. "Social networks in the global banking sector," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 237-269.
    35. Ran Duchin & Denis Sosyura, 2013. "Divisional Managers and Internal Capital Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(2), pages 387-429, April.
    36. Alexander W. Butler & Umit G. Gurun, 2012. "Educational Networks, Mutual Fund Voting Patterns, and CEO Compensation," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(8), pages 2533-2562.
    37. Cesare Fracassi, 2017. "Corporate Finance Policies and Social Networks," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(8), pages 2420-2438, August.
    38. Christa H. S. Bouwman, 2011. "Corporate Governance Propagation through Overlapping Directors," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 24(7), pages 2358-2394.
    39. Cai, Ye & Sevilir, Merih, 2012. "Board connections and M&A transactions," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 327-349.
    40. Walied Keshk & Jeff J. Wang, 2018. "Determinants of the relationship between investor sentiment and analysts’ private information production," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 45(9-10), pages 1082-1099, October.
    41. Scharfstein, David S & Stein, Jeremy C, 1990. "Herd Behavior and Investment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 80(3), pages 465-479, June.
    42. Bonini, Stefano & Capizzi, Vincenzo & Valletta, Mario & Zocchi, Paola, 2018. "Angel network affiliation and business angels' investment practices," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 592-608.
    43. Stein, Jeremy C., 2003. "Agency, information and corporate investment," Handbook of the Economics of Finance, in: G.M. Constantinides & M. Harris & R. M. Stulz (ed.), Handbook of the Economics of Finance, edition 1, volume 1, chapter 2, pages 111-165, Elsevier.
    44. Cai, Jie & Walkling, Ralph A. & Yang, Ke, 2016. "The Price of Street Friends: Social Networks, Informed Trading, and Shareholder Costs," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(3), pages 801-837, June.
    45. Xin Jin & Junli Yu, 2017. "Government governance, executive networks and corporate investment efficiency," China Finance Review International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 8(2), pages 122-139, December.
    46. García Lara, Juan Manuel & García Osma, Beatriz & Penalva, Fernando, 2016. "Accounting conservatism and firm investment efficiency," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(1), pages 221-238.
    47. Mao, Huina & Counts, Scott & Bollen, Johan, 2015. "Quantifying the effects of online bullishness on international financial markets," Statistics Paper Series 9, European Central Bank.
    48. Chen, Shimin & Sun, Zheng & Tang, Song & Wu, Donghui, 2011. "Government intervention and investment efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 17(2), pages 259-271, April.
    49. Bajo, Emanuele & Chemmanur, Thomas J. & Simonyan, Karen & Tehranian, Hassan, 2016. "Underwriter networks, investor attention, and initial public offerings," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(2), pages 376-408.
    50. Husam Aldamen & Keith Duncan & Simone Kelly & Ray McNamara, 2020. "Corporate governance and family firm performance during the Global Financial Crisis," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 1673-1701, June.
    51. Rawley Z. Heimer, 2016. "Peer Pressure: Social Interaction and the Disposition Effect," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(11), pages 3177-3209.
    52. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lu, Shan & Zhao, Jichang, 2024. "Investor network and stock return comovement: Information-seeking through intragroup and intergroup followings," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    2. Lu, Jing & Chen, Rongze, 2023. "Do individual investors pay attention to the information acquisition activities of institutional investors?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PD).
    3. Dong, Jichang & Liu, Xiaoting & Ji, Kangxian & Li, Xiuting & Dong, Zhi, 2023. "Peer Effects in Financial Investment of Board-interlocked Firms: An Information Sharing Perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1490-1508.
    4. Dong, Guangwu & Tian, Chengrun & Wang, Xining & Wang, Sanchuan, 2024. "Analyst coverage and corporate financing," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).

    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. Faia, Ester & Mayer, Maximilian & Pezone, Vincenzo, 2020. "The Value of Firm Networks: A Natural Experiment on Board Connections," CEPR Discussion Papers 14591, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Fogel, Kathy & Jandik, Tomas & McCumber, William R., 2018. "CFO social capital and private debt," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 28-52.
    3. Dbouk, Wassim & Fang, Yiwei & Liu, Liuling & Wang, Haizhi, 2020. "Do social networks encourage risk-taking? Evidence from bank CEOs," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    4. Ferris, Stephen P. & Javakhadze, David & Rajkovic, Tijana, 2017. "CEO social capital, risk-taking and corporate policies," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 46-71.
    5. Genc, Egemen & Shirley, Sara E. & Stark, Jeffrey R. & Tran, Hai, 2023. "Finding information in obvious places: Work connections and mutual fund investment ideas," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    6. Fang, Ming & Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar & Wu, Qiang, 2022. "External social networks and earnings management," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(2).
    7. Chahine, Salim & Fang, Yiwei & Hasan, Iftekhar & Mazboudi, Mohamad, 2019. "Entrenchment through corporate social responsibility: Evidence from CEO network centrality," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    8. Togan Egrican, Aslı, 2021. "Overlapping board connections with banker directors and corporate loan terms: Evidence from syndicated loans," Global Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 50(C).
    9. Rwan El‐Khatib & Dobrina Jandik & Tomas Jandik, 2021. "Network centrality, connections, and social capital: Evidence from CEO insider trading gains," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 56(3), pages 433-457, August.
    10. Griffin, Paul A. & Hong, Hyun A. & Liu, Yun & Ryou, Ji Woo, 2021. "The dark side of CEO social capital: Evidence from real earnings management and future operating performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    11. Houston, Joel F. & Lee, Jongsub & Suntheim, Felix, 2018. "Social networks in the global banking sector," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 237-269.
    12. Anderson, Christopher W. & Babajide Wintoki, M. & Xi, Yaoyi, 2024. "CFO social capital, liquidity management, and the market value of cash✰," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    13. Chen, Xiao & Chong, Zhaohui & Giudici, Paolo & Huang, Bihong, 2022. "Network centrality effects in peer to peer lending," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 600(C).
    14. Stephen P. Ferris & David Javakhadze & Tijana Rajkovic, 2019. "An international analysis of CEO social capital and corporate risk‐taking," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 25(1), pages 3-37, January.
    15. Monomita Nandy & Suman Lodh & Jin Wang & Jaskaran Kaur, 2021. "Does lobbying of firms complement executive networks in determining executive compensation?," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(3), pages 4137-4162, July.
    16. Amin, Abu & Chourou, Lamia & Kamal, Syed & Malik, Mahfuja & Zhao, Yang, 2020. "It’s who you know that counts: Board connectedness and CSR performance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    17. Zhao, Tianjiao, 2021. "Board network, investment efficiency, and the mediating role of CSR: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 897-919.
    18. Jackowicz, Krzysztof & Kozłowski, Łukasz, 2019. "Social ties between SME managers and bank employees: Financial consequences vs. SME managers' perceptions," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Fang, Yiwei & Francis, Bill & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2018. "Differences make a difference: Diversity in social learning and value creation," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 474-491.
    20. Yiwei Fang & Iftekhar Hasan & LiuLing Liu & Haizhi Wang, 2016. "Do Social Networks Encourage Risk-Taking? Evidence from Bank CEOs," BAFFI CAREFIN Working Papers 1641, BAFFI CAREFIN, Centre for Applied Research on International Markets Banking Finance and Regulation, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Corporate investment; Online social networks; Information sharing;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G31 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Capital Budgeting; Fixed Investment and Inventory Studies
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • L14 - Industrial Organization - - Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance - - - Transactional Relationships; Contracts and Reputation

    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:corfin:v:68:y:2021:i:c:s0929119921000420. 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/jcorpfin .

    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.