IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/acctbr/v39y2009i1p37-55.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of voluntary disclosure and dividend propensity on prices leading earnings

Author

Listed:
  • Khaled Hussainey
  • Martin Walker

Abstract

We investigate the joint effects of dividend propensity (i.e. whether a firm pays cash dividends) and voluntary disclosure on the relationship between current stock returns and future earnings. We examine whether dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure act as substitutes or complements in the financial communication process. We also examine whether the effects of dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure vary between high‐ and lowgrowth firms. Consistent with prior studies, we find that share price anticipation of earnings improves with increasing levels of annual report narrative disclosure, and that firms that pay dividends exhibit higher levels of share price anticipation of earnings than non‐dividend‐paying firms. The paper adds to the literature on share price anticipation of earnings in two crucial respects. First we show that the associations of voluntary disclosure and dividend propensity with share price anticipation of earnings are statistically significant for high‐growth firms and insignificant for low‐growth firms. Second we show that the significant effects we find for dividend propensity and voluntary disclosure in high‐growth firms are not perfectly additive.

Suggested Citation

  • Khaled Hussainey & Martin Walker, 2009. "The effects of voluntary disclosure and dividend propensity on prices leading earnings," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 37-55.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:acctbr:v:39:y:2009:i:1:p:37-55
    DOI: 10.1080/00014788.2009.9663348
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/00014788.2009.9663348
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/00014788.2009.9663348?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. Skinner, Douglas J., 2008. "The evolving relation between earnings, dividends, and stock repurchases," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(3), pages 582-609, March.
    2. Amir, Eli & Lev, Baruch, 1996. "Value-relevance of nonfinancial information: The wireless communications industry," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(1-3), pages 3-30, October.
    3. Ari Hyytinen & Mika Pajarinen, 2005. "External Finance, Firm Growth and the Benefits of Information Disclosure: Evidence from Finland," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 69-93, January.
    4. Dennis Oswald & Paul Zarowin, 2007. "Capitalization of R&D and the Informativeness of Stock Prices," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(4), pages 703-726.
    5. Denis, David J. & Osobov, Igor, 2008. "Why do firms pay dividends? International evidence on the determinants of dividend policy," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(1), pages 62-82, July.
    6. Brown, Stephen & Lo, Kin & Lys, Thomas, 1999. "Use of R2 in accounting research: measuring changes in value relevance over the last four decades," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 83-115, December.
    7. David S. Gelb, 2002. "Intangible Assets and Firms' Disclosures: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3&4), pages 457-476.
    8. Collins, Daniel W. & Kothari, S. P., 1989. "An analysis of intertemporal and cross-sectional determinants of earnings response coefficients," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2-3), pages 143-181, July.
    9. Jesper Banghøj & Thomas Plenborg, 2008. "Value relevance of voluntary disclosure in the annual report," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 48(2), pages 159-180, June.
    10. Lev, B, 1989. "On The Usefulness Of Earnings And Earnings Research - Lessons And Directions From 2 Decades Of Empirical-Research," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27, pages 153-192.
    11. Lev, Baruch & Sougiannis, Theodore, 1996. "The capitalization, amortization, and value-relevance of R&D," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 107-138, February.
    12. Lev, B & Zarowin, P, 1999. "The boundaries of financial reporting and how to extend them," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 353-385.
    13. David S. Gelb, 2002. "Intangible Assets and Firms' Disclosures: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3‐4), pages 457-476, April.
    14. Rayburn, J, 1986. "The Association Of Operating Cash Flow And Accruals With Security Returns," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24, pages 112-133.
    15. Schleicher, Thomas & Hussainey, Khaled & Walker, Martin, 2007. "Loss firms’ annual report narratives and share price anticipation of earnings," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 153-171.
    16. Gustavo Grullon & Roni Michaely & Bhaskaran Swaminathan, 2002. "Are Dividend Changes a Sign of Firm Maturity?," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 75(3), pages 387-424, July.
    17. Eades, Kenneth M., 1982. "Empirical Evidence on Dividends as a Signal of Firm Value," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 17(4), pages 471-500, November.
    18. Benartzi, Shlomo & Michaely, Roni & Thaler, Richard H, 1997. "Do Changes in Dividends Signal the Future or the Past?," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 52(3), pages 1007-1034, July.
    19. Francis, J & Schipper, K, 1999. "Have financial statements lost their relevance?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(2), pages 319-352.
    20. Collins, Daniel W. & Kothari, S. P. & Shanken, Jay & Sloan, Richard G., 1994. "Lack of timeliness and noise as explanations for the low contemporaneuos return-earnings association," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 289-324, November.
    21. Dennis Oswald & Steven Young, 2008. "Tax‐efficient irregular payout methods: The case of B share schemes and capital repayments via a court‐approved scheme of arrangement," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 49-70.
    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. Ahmed Aboud & Clare Roberts & Khaled Hussainey, 2019. "The impact of IFRS 8 on segment information quality in the European Union: a multi-dimensional analysis," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 16(2), pages 100-115, July.
    2. Vasiliki Athanasakou & Khaled Hussainey, 2014. "The perceived credibility of forward-looking performance disclosures," Accounting and Business Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 227-259, June.
    3. Saeed, Abubakr & Zamir, Farah, 2021. "How does CSR disclosure affect dividend payments in emerging markets?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    4. Nejla Ould Daoud Ellili, 2022. "Impact of environmental, social and governance disclosure on dividend policy: What is the role of corporate governance? Evidence from an emerging market," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(5), pages 1396-1413, September.
    5. Hidaya Lawati & Khaled Hussainey & Roza Sagitova, 2021. "Disclosure quality vis-à-vis disclosure quantity: Does audit committee matter in Omani financial institutions?," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 557-594, August.
    6. Liu, Sun, 2015. "Corporate governance and forward-looking disclosure: Evidence from China," Journal of International Accounting, Auditing and Taxation, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 16-30.
    7. Suliman Alshahmy & Hafez Abdo, 2023. "Impacts of reserve and decommissioning disclosures on value and performance of oil and gas firms listed in the UK," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 20(2), pages 168-184, June.
    8. Khelifa Mazouz & Yuliang Wu & Rabab Ebrahim & Abhijit Sharma, 2023. "Dividend policy, systematic liquidity risk, and the cost of equity capital," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 839-876, April.
    9. Jia-Wen Liang & Mei-Feng Lin & Chen-Lung Chin, 2012. "Does foreign institutional ownership motivate firms in an emerging market to increase voluntary disclosure? Evidence from Taiwan," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 39(1), pages 55-76, July.
    10. Tsalavoutas, Ioannis & Tsoligkas, Fanis, 2021. "Uncertainty avoidance and stock price informativeness of future earnings," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    11. Moumen, Néjia & Ben Othman, Hakim & Hussainey, Khaled, 2015. "The value relevance of risk disclosure in annual reports: Evidence from MENA emerging markets," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 177-204.
    12. Khaled Hussainey & Jinan Aal-Eisa, 2009. "Disclosure and dividend signalling when sustained earnings growth declines," Managerial Auditing Journal, Emerald Group Publishing, vol. 24(5), pages 445-454, May.
    13. Oxelheim, Lars, 2019. "Optimal vs satisfactory transparency: The impact of global macroeconomic fluctuations on corporate competitiveness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 190-206.
    14. Luminita Enache & Khaled Hussainey, 2020. "The substitutive relation between voluntary disclosure and corporate governance in their effects on firm performance," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 54(2), pages 413-445, February.
    15. Volkan Muslu & Suresh Radhakrishnan & K. R. Subramanyam & Dongkuk Lim, 2015. "Forward-Looking MD&A Disclosures and the Information Environment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(5), pages 931-948, May.
    16. Noha Elberry & Khaled Hussainey, 2021. "Governance Vis-à-Vis Investment Efficiency: Substitutes or Complementary in Their Effects on Disclosure Practice," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-16, January.
    17. Dargenidou, Christina & Jackson, Richard H.G. & Tsalavoutas, Ioannis & Tsoligkas, Fanis, 2021. "Capitalisation of R&D and the informativeness of stock prices: Pre- and post-IFRS evidence," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(4).
    18. Thorsten Knauer & Andreas Wömpener, 2011. "Management Forecast Regulation and Practice in Germany – Firm and Auditor Perspectives," Accounting in Europe, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(2), pages 185-209.
    19. Tzu-Chun Sheng & Alvin Chang & Shu-Hui Lan & Shih-Cheng Li, 2020. "Analysis of the Dividend Policy Decision-Making Mechanism of Chinese and Taiwanese Lithium Battery Industries," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 8(10), pages 1-16, October.
    20. Basil Al-Najjar & Rong Ding & Khaled Hussainey, 2016. "Determinants and value relevance of UK CEO pay slice," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(3), pages 403-421, May.
    21. Nan-Ting Kuo, 2013. "Dividend tax signaling and the pricing of future earnings: a case of taxable stock dividends," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 40(3), pages 539-570, April.
    22. Volkan Muslu & Sunay Mutlu & Suresh Radhakrishnan & Albert Tsang, 2019. "Corporate Social Responsibility Report Narratives and Analyst Forecast Accuracy," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 154(4), pages 1119-1142, February.
    23. Issal Haj-Salem & Salma Damak Ayadi & Khaled Hussainey, 2020. "The joint effect of corporate risk disclosure and corporate governance on firm value," International Journal of Disclosure and Governance, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(2), pages 123-140, September.
    24. Mouselli, Sulaiman & Jaafar, Aziz & Hussainey, Khaled, 2012. "Accruals quality vis-à-vis disclosure quality: Substitutes or complements?," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 36-46.

    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. Dechow, Patricia & Ge, Weili & Schrand, Catherine, 2010. "Understanding earnings quality: A review of the proxies, their determinants and their consequences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2-3), pages 344-401, December.
    2. Zéghal, Daniel & Maaloul, Anis, 2011. "The accounting treatment of intangibles – A critical review of the literature," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 262-274.
    3. Mohamed Sellami, 2006. "Typologie des déterminants comptables de la valeur : Apports de l'approche économique de l'information dans la mesure de la valeur," Post-Print halshs-00558252, HAL.
    4. Igor Goncharov & David Veenman, 2014. "Stale and Scale Effects in Markets-Based Accounting Research: Evidence from the Valuation of Dividends," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(1), pages 25-55, May.
    5. Jihene Chedlia Soussi, 2012. "Impact of Voluntary Disclosure on the Relevance of Accounting Information," Journal of Education and Vocational Research, AMH International, vol. 3(5), pages 138-153.
    6. Kothari, S. P., 2001. "Capital markets research in accounting," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 31(1-3), pages 105-231, September.
    7. Tami Dinh Thi & Wolfgang Schultze, 2011. "Capitalizing research & development and ‘other information’: the incremental information content of accruals versus cash flows," Metrika: International Journal for Theoretical and Applied Statistics, Springer, vol. 22(3), pages 241-278, November.
    8. Ilanit Gavious & Dafna Schwartz, 2009. "The Valuation Implications of Sales Growth in Start-up Ventures," Journal of Entrepreneurial Finance, Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management, vol. 13(2), pages 1-24, Fall.
    9. Joseph P.H. Fan & Feng Guan & Zengquan Li & Yong George Yang, 2014. "Relationship Networks and Earnings Informativeness: Evidence from Corruption Cases," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(7-8), pages 831-866, September.
    10. Callen, Jeffrey L. & Gavious, Ilanit & Segal, Dan, 2010. "The complementary relationship between financial and non-financial information in the biotechnology industry and the degree of investor sophistication," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 6(2), pages 61-76.
    11. Joachim Hoegh-Krohn, Nils E. & Knivsfla, Kjell Henry, 2000. "Accounting for Intangible Assets in Scandinavia, the UK, the US, and by the IASC: Challenges and a Solution," The International Journal of Accounting, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 243-265, July.
    12. Mustafa Ciftci & Masako Darrough, 2015. "What Explains the Valuation Difference between Intangible-intensive Profit and Loss Firms?," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(1-2), pages 138-166, January.
    13. Aharon, David Y. & Gavious, Ilanit & Yosef, Rami, 2010. "Stock market bubble effects on mergers and acquisitions," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(4), pages 456-470, November.
    14. Helena Isidro & José G. Dias, 2017. "Earnings quality and the heterogeneous relation between earnings and stock returns," Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, Springer, vol. 49(4), pages 1143-1165, November.
    15. Libor Závodný, 2021. "Relevance versus Reliability Trade-off in Financial Reporting among Companies Listed at Visegrad Group Stock Exchanges," European Financial and Accounting Journal, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2021(1), pages 7-24.
    16. Lam, Kevin C.K. & Sami, Heibatollah & Zhou, Haiyan, 2013. "Changes in the value relevance of accounting information over time: Evidence from the emerging market of China," Journal of Contemporary Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 123-135.
    17. Tswei, Keshin, 2013. "Is transaction price more value relevant compared to accounting information? An investigation of a time-series approach," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 1062-1078.
    18. David S. Jenkins & Gregory D. Kane & Uma Velury, 2009. "Earnings Conservatism and Value Relevance Across the Business Cycle," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(9-10), pages 1041-1058.
    19. Koji Ota, 2010. "The Value Relevance of Management Forecasts and Their Impact on Analysts' Forecasts: Empirical Evidence From Japan," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 46(1), pages 28-59, March.
    20. Dan Givoly & Carla Hayn & Sharon Katz, 2017. "The changing relevance of accounting information to debt holders over time," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 64-108, March.

    More about this item

    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:taf:acctbr:v:39:y:2009:i:1:p:37-55. 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: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/RABR20 .

    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.