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Are managers strategic in reporting non-earnings news? Evidence on timing and news bundling

Author

Listed:
  • Benjamin Segal

    (Fordham University
    Hebrew University)

  • Dan Segal

    (Interdisciplinary Center
    Singapore Management University)

Abstract

Using a comprehensive sample of non-earnings 8-K filings from 2005 to 2013, we examine whether firms strategically report mandatory and voluntary news. In particular, we examine whether firms report negative news when investor attention is low and whether they bundle positive and negative news. Our findings support the notion that managers believe in the existence of investor inattention and strategically report negative news after trading hours. These results particularly apply to public firms, where equity market pressures provide stronger incentives to mitigate market reaction to news by exploiting investor inattention. Further analysis of the market reaction to strategic disclosure uncovers no evidence of investor inattention, consistent with market efficiency. We also observe that public firms are more likely to strategically disclose through news bundling and that the likelihood of this increases with the likelihood of strategic disclosure through timing.

Suggested Citation

  • Benjamin Segal & Dan Segal, 2016. "Are managers strategic in reporting non-earnings news? Evidence on timing and news bundling," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1203-1244, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:21:y:2016:i:4:d:10.1007_s11142-016-9366-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-016-9366-y
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    Cited by:

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    2. Emmanuel Iatridis, George, 2018. "Accounting discretion and executive cash compensation: An empirical investigation of corporate governance, credit ratings and firm value," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 29-49.
    3. Hyunkwon Cho & Sunhwa Choi & Robert Kim, 2023. "Less timely earnings announcements and voluntary disclosure," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 524-564, March.
    4. Likittanawong Supawat & Leemakdej Arnat, 2023. "Market Reaction to Corporate Releases and News Articles: Evidence from Thailand’s Stock Market," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-27, September.
    5. Júlio Lobão & Sílvia Santos, 2019. "Stock Market Reaction To Brexit Announcements: Evidence From A Natural Experiment," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 19(03), pages 1-17, September.
    6. Valentina Lagasio & Marina Brogi, 2021. "Market reaction to banks’ interim press releases: an event study analysis," Journal of Management & Governance, Springer;Accademia Italiana di Economia Aziendale (AIDEA), vol. 25(1), pages 95-119, March.
    7. Allen H. Huang & Jianghua Shen & Amy Y. Zang, 2022. "The unintended benefit of the risk factor mandate of 2005," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 1319-1355, December.
    8. Li, Tao & Xiang, Cheng & Liu, Zhuo & Cai, Wenwu, 2020. "Annual report disclosure timing and stock price crash risk," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    9. Thomas Bourveau & Jordan Schoenfeld, 2017. "Shareholder activism and voluntary disclosure," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 1307-1339, September.
    10. Charles P. Cullinan & Richard Holowczak & David Louton & Hakan Saraoglu, 2023. "Costs associated with exit or disposal activities: A topic modeling investigation of disclosure and market reaction," Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 173-191, October.
    11. Sharad Asthana & Rachana Kalelkar, 2023. "Effect of geomagnetic activity on investors and managers: evidence from the pricing and timing of disclosure of earnings news," Asian Review of Accounting, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 31(3), pages 387-413, February.
    12. Ni, Xiaoran & Peng, Qiyuan & Yin, Sirui & Zhang, Ting, 2020. "Attention! Distracted institutional investors and stock price crash," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    13. Kraft, Pepa & Xie, Yuan & Zhou, Ling, 2020. "The intraday timing of rating changes," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    14. Hyunkwon Cho & Robert Kim, 2021. "Asymmetric effects of voluntary disclosure on stock liquidity: evidence from 8‐K filings," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(1), pages 803-846, March.
    15. Dai, Rui & Ng, Lilian & Zaiats, Nataliya, 2022. "Short seller attention," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    16. Kim, Jongkyum & Lim, Jee-Hae & Yoon, Kyunghee, 2022. "How do the content, format, and tone of Twitter-based corporate disclosure vary depending on earnings performance?," International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(C).
    17. Loughran, Tim & McDonald, Bill & Pragidis, Ioannis, 2019. "Assimilation of oil news into prices," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 105-118.
    18. Bassyouny, Hesham & Abdelfattah, Tarek & Tao, Lei, 2022. "Narrative disclosure tone: A review and areas for future research," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    19. Cristi Gleason & Zhejia Ling & Rong Zhao, 2020. "Selective disclosure and the role of Form 8‐K in the post‐Reg FD era," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 47(3-4), pages 365-396, March.
    20. Jing He & Marlene A. Plumlee, 2020. "Measuring disclosure using 8-K filings," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 903-962, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    SEC regulation; Form 8-K; Voluntary disclosure; Mandatory disclosure; Investor inattention;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G18 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K22 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law - - - Business and Securities Law
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation

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