Research on the effect of corporate rumor clarification based on text analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the development and popularization of the Internet, rumors have spread increasingly faster. To eliminate the harm of rumors to the production and operation of enterprises, enterprises usually issue rumor clarification announcements to kill or dispel rumor spreading. This study examines the effectiveness of corporate clarification announcements by analyzing the nature of rumors and the text of rumor clarification announcements. Using a sample of 440 Chinese listed companies’ announcements over the period 2019–2022, the research results show that ① the nature of the rumor has a significant impact on the effectiveness of the rumor clarification; ② The strength and text length of rumor clarification have no effect on the clarification effect; ③ Rumor clarification attitude has a significant positive impact on the clarification effect, but the data explanation in announcements have a negative influence. The results of this study should be considered a positive finding with strong theoretical and managerial implications for rumors and their governance.