IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v86y2025ipds1544612325018719.html

Online public opinion and firm investment preferences

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Chunli
  • Qin, Yiyang

Abstract

Using data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2021, this study reveals the impact of online public opinion on firm investment preferences. Results reveal that online public opinion will reduce firms’ real investment and increase firms’ financial investment. Furthermore, the favorable impacts of the online public opinion on firm investment preferences are attained through the financing constraint.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Chunli & Qin, Yiyang, 2025. "Online public opinion and firm investment preferences," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PD).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:86:y:2025:i:pd:s1544612325018719
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.108617
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325018719
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.108617?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Meng, Ying & Zhao, Lei, 2025. "Online public opinion attention and corporate green finance development," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    2. Zhang, Xin & Shi, Chenxiao, 2025. "How does Environmental Protection Tax Law affect corporate investment preferences?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    3. Alex Edmans & Vivian W. Fang & Katharina A. Lewellen, 2017. "Equity Vesting and Investment," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 30(7), pages 2229-2271.
    4. Huang, Yuqin & Qiu, Huiyan & Wu, Zhiguo, 2016. "Local bias in investor attention: Evidence from China's Internet stock message boards," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 38(PA), pages 338-354.
    5. Yu, Ze & Zhao, Xiuli & Sun, Licheng, 2024. "Does supply chain voice influence firms’ investment preferences?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    6. Zhi Da & Joseph Engelberg & Pengjie Gao, 2011. "In Search of Attention," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 66(5), pages 1461-1499, October.
    7. An, Zhe & Li, Donghui & Yu, Jin, 2015. "Firm crash risk, information environment, and speed of leverage adjustment," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 132-151.
    8. Liang, Shangkun & Niu, Yuhao & Xin, Fu & Jiang, Lixian, 2024. "CEO foreign experience and corporate financial investment," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 93(PA), pages 929-946.
    9. Zhang, Ke & Zhang, Xujun & Xiong, Lingyun & Rao, Bin, 2024. "The stabilizing effect of government guarantees in real economy investment: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 219-240.
    10. Xia, Dehua & Shi, Junfeng, 2024. "Individual investors’ online voice and corporate environmental information disclosure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PB).
    11. Hu, Wentao & Zou, Rui & Liu, Tie, 2025. "How does the anti-monopoly policy affect firms' investment preference?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    12. Li, Yue & Li, Zhengyi & Yan, Yingchuan, 2025. "Online media supervision, development of digital finance, and corporate social responsibility," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    13. Cristina Arellano & Yan Bai & Patrick J. Kehoe, 2019. "Financial Frictions and Fluctuations in Volatility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(5), pages 2049-2103.
    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. Ge, Xiaowen & Xue, Minggao & Cao, Ruiyi, 2024. "Do Chinese carbon-intensive stocks overreact to climate transition risk? Evidence from the COP26 news," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    2. Li, Yi & Zhang, Wei & Wang, Pengfei & Goodell, John W., 2024. "Social media as an amplifier of insider trading profits," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    3. 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).
    4. Qian Chen & Xiang Gao & Jianming Mo & Zhouling Xu, 2022. "Market Reaction to Local Attention around Earnings Announcements in China: Evidence from Internet Search Activity," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-26, October.
    5. Hu, Shiyang & Xiang, Cheng & Quan, Xiaofeng, 2023. "Salience theory and mutual fund flows: Empirical evidence from China," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 54(C).
    6. Yuan, Ying & Fan, Xiaoqian & Li, Yiou, 2022. "Do local and non-local retail investor attention impact stock returns differently?," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Yuan, Ying & Wang, Haiying & Jin, Xiu, 2022. "Pandemic-driven financial contagion and investor behavior: Evidence from the COVID-19," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    8. Zeng, Yongliang & Zhao, Xiangfang & Zhu, Yiwen, 2023. "Equity incentives and ESG performance: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    9. Guomei Tang & Xueyong Zhang, 2021. "Media attention to locations and the cross‐section of stock returns," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 2301-2336, April.
    10. Sifat, Imtiaz Mohammad & Thaker, Hassanudin Mohd Thas, 2020. "Predictive power of web search behavior in five ASEAN stock markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    11. Xiong, Xiong & Meng, Yongqiang & Joseph, Nathan Lael & Shen, Dehua, 2020. "Stock mispricing, hard-to-value stocks and the influence of internet stock message boards," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. Chen, Shuning & Zhang, Wei & Feng, Xu & Xiong, Xiong, 2020. "Asymmetry of retail investors’ attention and asymmetric volatility: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    13. Desheng, Liu & Li, Mingsheng & Wang, Xinran & Wang, Ying, 2025. "Fading familiarity: High-speed rail and the decline in retail investors' attention to local firms," Journal of Financial Stability, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Zhang, Tianjiao & Shen, Zhe & Sun, Qian, 2022. "Product market advertising and stock price crash risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    15. Wei Zhang & Pengfei Wang, 2020. "Investor attention and the pricing of cryptocurrency market," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 445-468, July.
    16. Ruan, Xinfeng & Zhang, Jin E., 2016. "Investor attention and market microstructure," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 125-130.
    17. Cheng, Feiyang & Wang, Chunfeng & Chiao, Chaoshin & Yao, Shouyu & Fang, Zhenming, 2021. "Retail attention, retail trades, and stock price crash risk," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    18. Shouyu Yao & Ahmet Sensoy & Duc Khuong Nguyen & Tong Li, 2024. "Investor attention and cryptocurrency market liquidity: a double-edged sword," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 334(1), pages 815-856, March.
    19. Zhang, Ziqi & Su, Zhi & Wang, Ke & Zhang, Yongji, 2022. "Corporate environmental information disclosure and stock price crash risk: Evidence from Chinese listed heavily polluting companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    20. Cui, Xin & Sensoy, Ahmet & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Yao, Shouyu & Wu, Yiyao, 2022. "Positive information shocks, investor behavior and stock price crash risk," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 493-518.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:86:y:2025:i:pd:s1544612325018719. 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.