Firm-specific Variation Research Articles

ESG and the Cost of Debt: Role of Media Coverage

This study delves into the interplay between the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings and the debt costs incurred by Korean-listed companies, highlighting their pivotal significance in today’s corporate ecosystem. Our primary focus is to explore how the extent of media coverage moderates this relationship, thereby shedding light on the pivotal role that public scrutiny plays in shaping a company’s financial outcomes. Utilizing the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model, we rigorously control for industry and year effects, as well as firm-specific variations. Additionally, we conduct a series of supplementary analyses and robust tests to further strengthen the credibility of our findings. Our empirical analysis reveals that firms with poor ESG ratings, indicating corporate social irresponsibility, incur higher debt costs in the subsequent period. Notably, this adverse financial impact is significantly alleviated for companies that enjoy higher media coverage. This notable discovery underscores the potential of media scrutiny to reduce the financial burden imposed by inadequate ESG performance. Our results suggest that companies, especially those with limited media attention, should prioritize enhancing their ESG performance to mitigate potential financial implications. Overall, our research contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the intersection between corporate social responsibility, media coverage, and financial performance.

Profitability, asset investment, and aggregate stock returns

We find that aggregate profitability and asset investment exhibit robust joint predictive power for aggregate excess stock returns, consistent with the investment model of Hou, Xue, and Zhang (henceforth HXZ, 2015). These results provide out-of-sample empirical support for HXZ, as the same mechanisms that HXZ use to explain firm-specific variation in stock returns can also be used to explain variation that is market-wide in nature. Also consistent with the HXZ investment model, we find that the growth rate of short-term (long-term) assets exhibits a stronger predictive power for one-year-ahead (two-year-ahead) stock returns.

OPEN MARKET REPURCHASES AND STOCK PRICE INFORMATIVENESS: EVIDENCE FROM MALAYSIA STOCK MARKET

Abstract 
 The aim of research paper is to examine the effect of stock price informativeness, which is conveyed by stock prices, on firm’s open market repurchases (OMRs) activity. The finding of study is to provide evidence of presence of managerial learning whereby managers could use firm-specific stock return variation to buy back their shares via open market. Evidence is found in the subsample analysis where target sample is separated to two subsamples periods and test separately based on stock market performance. The finding of the 1st subsample (Q12008-Q42013) for OMRs activity indicates that variation of stock return and firm size significantly and positively explains OMRs activity. The finding of 1st subsample is robust in terms of random and fixed effect model. The finding implies that managers observed and learned information from firm-specific variation in stock return during financial crisis and recovery periods when performing open market repurchases.
 Keywords: Open market repurchase, managerial learning hypothesis, stock price informativeness, firm-specific return variation, informed trading.

FIRM SPECIFIC VARIATION IN RETURNS AND FUNDAMENTALS IN KOREA STOCK MARKET

We explore the link between firm-specific variations in stock returns and firm fundamentals in the context of a simple present value framework and test the effect of market openness and firms' industry belonging on stock price informativeness in Korea. Using detailed accounting data and an extensive control for firm-specific characteristics, we find that alternative proxies of cash flow shocks explain a significant part of the variation in firm-specific returns. The effect, however, is not uniform across market sectors. Although greater foreign shareholding in a firm is important to establish a stronger positive linkage between cash flow shocks and stock returns variation prior to the Asian financial crisis, this condition is not necessary after the Korean market was fully opened up to the foreign investors in the post-crisis period.

Culture and R2

Consistent with predictions from the psychology literature, we find that stock prices co-move more (less) in culturally tight (loose) and collectivistic (individualistic) countries. Culture influences stock price synchronicity by affecting correlations in investors׳ trading activities and a country׳s information environment. Both market-wide and firm-specific variations are lower in tighter cultures. Individualism is mostly associated with higher firm-specific variations. Trade and financial openness weakens the effect of domestic culture on stock price comovements. These results hold for various robustness checks. Our study suggests that culture is an important omitted variable in the literature that investigates cross-country differences in stock price comovements.

Culture and <i>R</i>2

Consistent with predictions from the psychology literature, we find that stock prices co-move more (less) in culturally tight (loose) and collectivistic (individualistic) countries. Culture influences stock price synchronicity by affecting correlations in investors’ trading activities and a country’s information environment. Both market-wide and firm-specific variations are lower in tighter cultures. Individualism is mostly associated with higher firm-specific variations. Trade and financial openness weakens the effect of domestic culture on stock price comovements. These results hold for various robustness checks. Our study suggests that culture is an important omitted variable in the literature that investigates cross-country differences in stock price comovements.

Large foreign ownership and stock price informativeness around the world

This study investigates the relation between large foreign ownership (LFO) and the informativeness of stock prices in 40 markets. We show that LFO is positively related to price informativeness, measured by probability of informed trading (PIN) and price non-synchronicity (NONSYNC) which reflects firm-specific variations in stock returns. We also find a stronger association between stock returns and future earnings innovations for firms with higher LFO. Further analysis reveals that the effect of LFO on price informativeness is stronger in developed economies and markets with strong investor protection and a transparent information environment.

Firm fundamentals and stock prices in emerging Asian stock markets: some panel data evidence

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the direct link between firm fundamentals and stock prices in a set of emerging Asian stock markets using firm-level panel data. In doing so, we explore the relationship between firm-specific variations in stock returns and firm fundamentals in the context of a simple present value framework. We find that alternative proxies of variation in firm fundamentals—albeit at differing degrees—explain a significant part of firm-specific return variation in a majority of emerging markets in Asia. Findings are robust to the influence of other factors known to affect stock return volatility (e.g. firm size, stock turnover, and leverage). Overall results suggest that stock prices in a majority of the Asian emerging markets contain a significant amount of firm-specific fundamental information and are, therefore, not as murky as commonly thought.

Culture and Stock Price Synchronicity: The Effects of Tightness and Individualism

In this paper, we examine the effect of culture on cross-country differences in stock price synchronicity. We focus on two cultural dimensions. The first, tightness-looseness, relates to the external constraints on investors’ behavior that helps to explain the similarity/diversity in individual behaviors within a country (Gelfand et al., Science, 2011). The second, individualism- collectivism, focuses on the internal attributes that guide investor’s behavior and reflects the degree to which people focus on their internal attributes to differentiate from others (Hofstede, 1980). Together, tightness and individualism influence the inter-personal similarity/diversity of behaviors and the tendency to think holistically/analytically, which are likely to affect stock price synchronicity. Using stock returns of 45 countries from 1990 to 2010, we find a higher stock price synchronicity in countries with a tighter and less individualistic culture. Both market-wide and firm-specific stock return variations are lower (higher) in countries that are culturally tight (loose). On the other hand, individualism just increases firm-specific variations. The marginal effect of culture on stock price synchronicity is comparable to those of previously documented determinants of stock price synchronicity, such as good government index and information opaqueness. We also find that the influence of culture on the stock price co-movement is weaker in countries that are more open to trade and more integrated with the global stock market. Taken together, our study suggests that culture is an important omitted variable in the literature that examines cross-country differences in the stock price co-movement.

Firm-Specific Variation and Openness in Emerging Markets

This paper compares the comovement of individual stock returns across emerging markets. Campbell et al. and Morck et al. have shown that the United States saw rising firm-specific stock return variations, and thus declining comovement, over the second half of the twentieth century. We detect a similar, albeit weaker, pattern in most, but not all, emerging markets. We further find that higher firm-specific variation is associated with greater capital market openness, but not goods market openness. Moreover, this relationship is magnified by institutional integrity (good government). Goods market openness is associated with higher marketwide variation.

Firm-Specific Variation and Openness in Emerging Markets

This paper compares the comovement of individual stock returns across emerging markets. Campbell et al. (2001) and Morck et al. (2000) show that the US in the post war period saw rising firm specific stock return variations and thus declining comovement. We detect a similar, albeit weaker, pattern in most, but not all, emerging markets. We further find that higher firm-specific variation is associated with greater capital market openness, but not goods market openness. Moreover, this relationship is magnified by institutional integrity (good government). Goods market openness is associated with higher market-wide variation.