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Adapting to Radical Change: The Benefits of Short-Horizon Investors

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  • Giannetti, Mariassunta
  • Yu, Xiaoyun

Abstract

We show that following large permanent negative shocks, firms with more short-term institutional investors suffer smaller drops in sales, investment and employment and have better long-term performance than similar firms affected by the shocks. To do so, these firms increase their R&D and advertising expenses, differentiate their products from those of the competitors, conduct more diversifying acquisitions, and have higher executive turnover in the aftermath of the shocks, suggesting that they put stronger effort in adapting their business to the new competitive environment. Endogeneity of institutional ownership and other selection problems do not appear to drive our findings.

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  • Giannetti, Mariassunta & Yu, Xiaoyun, 2017. "Adapting to Radical Change: The Benefits of Short-Horizon Investors," CEPR Discussion Papers 12021, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12021
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    5. Dirk Hackbarth & Alejandro Rivera & Tak-Yuen Wong, 2022. "Optimal Short-Termism," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(9), pages 6477-6505, September.
    6. Harford, Jarrad & Kecskés, Ambrus & Mansi, Sattar, 2018. "Do long-term investors improve corporate decision making?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 424-452.
    7. Mengqin Zhang & Yi He & Surui Zhang & Xiang Zhang & Stavros Sindakis & Saloome Showkat, 2024. "Stock Liquidity and Investment Efficiency: Evidence from the New Regulation of Insider Selling in China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8563-8587, June.
    8. Zhihao Wang & Kezhi Liao & Sisi Wang, 2024. "Institutional investor horizons, ownership structure and investment efficiency in China," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 64(1), pages 739-782, March.
    9. Cvijanović, Dragana & Dasgupta, Amil & Zachariadis, Konstantinos E., 2022. "The Wall Street stampede: Exit as governance with interacting blockholders," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 433-455.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Short-termism; Investor horizons; Restructuring; Tariff cuts; Deregulation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G3 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance
    • G23 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Non-bank Financial Institutions; Financial Instruments; Institutional Investors
    • F1 - International Economics - - Trade

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