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Corporate governance, market conditions and investors’ reaction to information signals

Author

Listed:
  • Nawaf Almaskati
  • Ron Bird

    (University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

  • Danny Yeung

    (University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia)

  • Yue Lu

    (University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand)

Abstract

We examine and compare the extent to which the reaction of investors to earnings announcements is influenced by a firm’s governance profile and prevailing market conditions. We find that firms with better governance characteristics experience a larger initial reaction to both good and bad earnings announcements regardless of the prevailing sentiment and uncertainty conditions. However, the influence of governance is constrained to the announcement period. We demonstrate that changes in market uncertainty and/or investor sentiment are related to the post-earnings announcement drift. We also find that a major channel through which greater corporate governance influences the market response to unexpected earnings news is by lowering information uncertainty and so providing greater clarity of the implication of the news for firm value. Finally, we establish that two types of uncertainties (market and information) have very different influence on investor’s response to information signals. JEL Classification: D81, G10, G14, G30, G32

Suggested Citation

  • Nawaf Almaskati & Ron Bird & Danny Yeung & Yue Lu, 2023. "Corporate governance, market conditions and investors’ reaction to information signals," Australian Journal of Management, Australian School of Business, vol. 48(1), pages 38-66, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ausman:v:48:y:2023:i:1:p:38-66
    DOI: 10.1177/03128962221096492
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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