Exploring financial disclosures and strategic communication
Abstract: This paper studies how the growing use of algorithms to read and produce corporate disclosure can ultimately degrade disclosure quality. I show that when both managers and investors employ natural language processing algorithms, strategic disclosure behavior can lead to decreased information quality despite technological improvements...
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Abstract: Using natural language processing, we identify corporate goals stated in the shareholder letters of the 150 largest companies in the United States from 1955 to 2020. We document significant shifts in stated corporate purposes over time, with increasing emphasis on stakeholder considerations and decreasing focus on shareholder value maximization...
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Abstract: We propose that lawyers serve as a mechanism through which M&A firms seek to avoid antitrust scrutiny. We identify the specific law firms driving this effect – firms we refer to as the “HSR Dodgers.” We show that ...
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