Abstract

AbstractWe demonstrate an unintended consequence of mandatory disclosure of data breaches: the distortion of firms' real business activities. Employing the staggered adoption of data breach disclosure laws across various US states, we show that mandatory disclosure exacerbates CEOs' real earnings manipulation through production and operation management, which is more pronounced for firms of which the outbreak of data breaches is more of a concern and under stronger short‐term market pressure. The law adoption is associated with higher stock price crash risk and fewer patenting activities. Our findings reveal side effects of certain customer‐protection regulations in view of dampened information quality.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call