Demand For Information Research Articles

The impact of news media coverage on voluntary disclosure

AbstractThis study investigates whether and how firm‐specific news media coverage affects corporate voluntary disclosure. I predict that media coverage influences managers' disclosure decisions by directing investor attention toward firms and increasing investor demand for firm information. I find that managers are more likely to issue earnings guidance if their recent earnings guidance receives more media coverage. The relation between media coverage and guidance issuance is stronger for news articles that purely disseminate information quickly and are published by news outlets that target institutional investors. Consistent with my hypothesis that media coverage influences investor demand for information, I find evidence that media coverage of guidance positively relates to subsequent institutional information search activity, which in turn positively relates to future guidance issuance. Examining sources of plausibly exogenous variation in media coverage, I find further corroborative evidence of a positive relation between media coverage and earnings guidance. Overall, these analyses indicate that the news media influence managers' provision of voluntary disclosure.

Text Mining and Topic Analysis for Ostriches' Welfare Based on Systematic Literature Review from 1983 to 2023.

Ostriches can be utilized as multipurpose animals suitable for producing meat, eggs, feathers, and leather. This growing interest in ostrich farming leads to an increased demand for comprehensive information on their management. But, little attention is paid to the consequences for their welfare. The study aimed to perform a research literature analysis on ostriches' welfare using the text mining (TM) and topic analysis (TA) methods. It identifies prevailing topics, summarizes their temporal trend within the last forty years, and highlights potential research gaps. According to PRISMA guidelines, a literature exploration was achieved using the Scopus® database, retaining keywords about ostriches' welfare. Papers distributed in the English language from 1983 to 2023 were included. Descriptive statistics, TM, and TA were applied to a total of n. 122 documents included. The findings revealed an increasing trend in research records since 1994. TM recognized the terms with the highest weighted frequency and TA identified the main topics of the research area, in the following order: "health and management", "feeding and nutrition", "welfare reproduction", "egg production", and "welfare during transport". The study confirms the increased focus on ostriches' welfare but shows that further studies are required to ensure the welfare of this species.

A Collection of Wisdom in Predicting Sector Returns: The Use of Google Search Volume Index

This study investigates whether the aggregate investor information demand for all stocks in a sector demonstrated in the Google search volume index (SVI) can predict the sector’s performance. The evidence shows that a sector’s abnormal SVI can predict the sector’s performance next month, even after controlling for the sector’s contemporaneous standardized unexpected earnings and lagged returns on both the market and the sector. Also found is a partial reversal in the sector’s long-run performance that is not completely consistent with the price pressure hypothesis. This indicates that some fundamental information about a sector can be captured by the sector’s abnormal SVI on a timely basis.

A neural code supporting prospective probabilistic reasoning for instrumental information demand in humans

When making adaptive decisions, we actively demand information, but relatively little is known about the mechanisms of active information gathering. An open question is how the brain prospectively estimates the information gains that are expected to accrue from various sources by integrating simpler quantities of prior certainty and the reliability (diagnosticity) of a source. We examine this question using fMRI in a task in which people placed bids to obtain information in conditions that varied independently in the rewards, decision uncertainty, and information diagnosticity. We show that, consistent with value of information theory, the participants’ bids are sensitive to prior certainty (the certainty about the correct choice before gathering information) and expected posterior certainty (the certainty expected after gathering information). Expected posterior certainty is decoded from multivoxel activation patterns in the posterior parietal and extrastriate cortices. This representation is independent of instrumental rewards and spatially overlaps with distinct representations of prior certainty and expected information gains. The findings suggest that the posterior parietal and extrastriate cortices are candidates for mediating the prospection of posterior probabilities as a key step to anticipating information gains during active gathering of instrumental information.

The role of EV fast charging in the urban context: An agent-based model approach

Using an agent-based simulation approach, this paper investigates the role of fast-charging infrastructure in urban environments. The simulation model tracks the spatial and temporal behaviours of electric vehicles (EVs), facilitating a comprehensive analysis of the deployment of charging infrastructure. Notably, the model incorporates non-parametric queuing dynamics, information-sharing regarding waiting times, and diverse agent characteristics, deepening insights into the subject matter. Drawing on a large-scale implementation in the municipalities of Frederiksberg and Copenhagen, the study advocates for adopting fast chargers by demonstrating several key points. Firstly, information-sharing significantly reduces waiting times, particularly within the fast-charging network, with potential reductions of up to 30% during peak demand periods. Secondly, larger fast-charging clusters comprising 10–14 outlets outperform smaller clusters, primarily due to reduced waiting times and enhanced prediction accuracy of waiting times, which is a consequence of the information-sharing. Thirdly, placement strategies based on unserved demand metrics yield superior outcomes than those solely driven by observed demand patterns. By effectively monitoring both observed and unmet demand, these strategies tend to better optimize charging infrastructure placement. These insights, which emerge from the sophisticated and heterogeneous nature of the simulation framework, highlight the value of information and unserved demand in this field.

History-informed institutional change: Houghton Mifflin and the shifting dynamics of the US book publishing industry (1950–1970)

After World War II, the United States experienced a robust economy marked by growing demand for information and education, alongside the emergence of leisure activities. Quantitative data spanning from 1950 to 1970, along with the reconstruction of Houghton Mifflin’s business trajectory, indicate that economic and social factors laid the groundwork for a transformation in the publishing industry. Through a meticulously structured historical analysis, this article contributes to the field of business history by elucidating the evolution of the publishing industry during this period of observation. Furthermore, it offers valuable insights into institutional theory by demonstrating how historical contexts and environments shape new practices and stimulate organisational change.

Auditor Office Reputation Damage and Their Audit Clients’ Voluntary Disclosures

SUMMARY We examine how client firms of reputationally damaged auditor offices respond to perceived lower audit quality, focusing on the issuance of management forecasts. We find that nonrestating client firms that stay with their reputationally damaged auditor office increase their number of management forecasts, which is consistent with a substitution effect between audited financial reporting quality and voluntary disclosure. Further, the disclosure response of these clients is more pronounced when the client firm is exposed to a higher information demand environment or is exposed to lower proprietary costs of disclosure. Finally, we document that increases in management forecasts bring market benefits for clients audited by reputationally damaged auditor offices by reducing the cost of equity and improving realized returns for these firms. Data Availability: All data used in the study are available from public sources identified within. JEL Classifications: M41; M45; M49.

Pengaruh Media Sosial Lemon8 Terhadap Pemenuhan Kebutuhan Informasi Mengenai Korean Fashion Style

Social media plays a vital role as a primary source of information, bringing the ability to spread information and introduce new things to its environment. This has an impact on the creation of more open and clear communication. The effect is a widening of the public's viewpoint, even beyond the borders of the country. One of the most popular cultural trends, especially among younger generations, is Korean Wave-inspired fashion. With the growing demand for information about Korean fashion, many people turn to search for it through social media. One platform that meets this need is Lemon8, a social media app that focuses on sharing and exploring lifestyle information, Korean Fashion Wave. The study aims to measure how much social media influence Lemon8 has on meeting Korean style information needs. The research method used was quantitative, with sampling through simple random samplings and involving 400 respondents. According to the hypothesis test, the influence of Lemon8 was significant with t counting far larger than the table. The study showed that Lemon 8 contributed to meeting the information needs of Korean fashion style, while the remaining were likely to be influenced by other variables not studied in this study.

Platform Information Sharing Decisions Considering Supplier Delivery Services and Encroachment Strategies

The platform often has private information about uncertain demand and determines whether to share the information with the supplier. And the supplier’s choice of delivery services and encroachment may depend on the platform’s information sharing policy. This paper examines the two-dimensional information sharing strategies in a supply chain where the supplier provides delivery services. Based on the game theory model, we find that when the platform shares unfavorable information, the motivation for the supplier’s encroachment decreases firstly. Encroachment does not reduce the level of delivery service from the supplier. Second, delivery services levels of supplier increase with channel substitution rate. Although platform sharing information lowers profits in a supply chain where the supplier provides delivery services, the platform can share information on behalf of delivery services improvement under certain conditions interestingly. Previous papers that ignore a supplier’s decision on delivery services may have underestimated the scope for platform profitable information sharing. Third, the equilibrium profits of supply chain entities present non-monotonous with respect to encroachment cost. The platform often faces a tradeoff. Sharing information, on the one hand, enables the supplier to gain a better understanding of the impact on demand and encourages enhancements to delivery services, which is advantageous to the platform. However, sharing information allows the supplier to absorb the impact of demand information by making modifications to the wholesale price and delivery services, which benefits the supplier but hurts the platform. This makes the negative effects of double marginalization worse.

Product transportation strategy in the presence of limited shipment capacity and purchase timing

ABSTRACT In maritime practice, shippers can order shipment capacity before knowing product demand and then transport those products via liner shipping (LS) after observing demand information, or shippers can transport them when needed via tramp shipping (TS) without pre-ordering shipment. We develop a game-theoretic model to analyse these two transportation modes, LS and TS, in the presence or absence of demand and supply shocks such as those occurring in a pandemic. Interestingly, when vessels have a sufficiently small shipment capacity, the shipper prefers LS (TS) when market uncertainty is high (low) if the following is true: (a) the market size is moderate and there are no such shocks, or (b) the market is not sufficiently large in the case of shocks. This conclusion contradicts the naïve belief that the shipper prefers LS (TS) in the case of low (high) market uncertainty. Additionally, when the market is sufficiently large, the shipper prefers TS only if dead freight rate is low and the tramp vessel’s shipment capacity is moderately greater than that of LS. It follows that, due to high freight charges or low profit, the TS mode may not be the shipper’s best choice, even if the transportation demand is very large.

The evolution of two‐stage production and order equilibrium in a random yield supply chain with demand information updating

AbstractThe mismatch between production, order, and demand seriously affects supply chain performance. However, most research focus on the mismatch between the retailer's order and customer's demand, which ignores the influence of the supplier's random yield on supply chain members' decision‐making. This paper investigates a two‐stage optimization problem within a two‐echelon supply chain, featuring a supplier with random yield and a retailer updating demand information in real‐time. Faced with a long production lead time, the retailer can either place advance orders at the production season's onset (first‐stage advance order) or opt for instant orders at the beginning of the sales season (second‐stage instant order). To ensure timely order fulfillment, the supplier initially employs a cost‐effective regular production mode with random yield during the production season. If yields are insufficient during sales, a pricier emergency production mode with guaranteed output becomes available. Utilizing a dynamic programming approach, we formulate the two‐stage optimization problem to derive optimal production and order decisions. Our analysis uncovers how realized random yield and stochastic market signals influence emergency production and instant order quantities in the second stage. We compare expected profits in scenarios with perfect and imperfect market signals, probing the members' preferences regarding order strategies. An intriguing finding emerges: as instant wholesale prices rising, the supplier's preferred order strategy diverges from the retailer. By strategic adjustments to the instant wholesale price, we demonstrate the potential for unanimous agreement on preferred order strategies among supply chain members — a quality enhancing the chain's flexibility and performance. Moreover, we extend the model to hybrid order strategies and identify conditions for unanimous preference among the three strategies. To bolster our theoretical findings, we provide numerical examples, lending practical support to our study.

Belief in divine (versus human) control of earth affects perceived threat of climate change

Religious characteristics are predictive of Americans’ skepticism toward climate-related science and policy. Though attributable to a variety of interrelated factors, we propose specific religious beliefs help explain the dynamic in part. Specifically, we theorize that belief in divine (versus human) control over Earth’s climate likely engenders skepticism toward scientific claims that human behavior is leading Earth toward environmental crisis. Regression analyses with national survey data (N = 5321) demonstrate that believing “God would not allow humans to destroy the Earth” is associated with lower concern about climate change. Next, a pre-registered survey experiment (N = 3345) finds that manipulating belief in God’s—vis-à-vis humans’—control of Earth’s climate reduced the perceived severity of climate change and need for policy intervention. Our manipulation also reduced demand for climate-related information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. These results establish an important causal link between a religious belief and climate change attitudes in the U.S. public.

Manufacturers’ efforts and platform’s demand information sharing in eco-friendly actions

More and more consumers have an awareness of environmental protection, and platforms and manufacturers invest in eco-friendly operating and manufacturing to stimulate demand and fulfill their social responsibilities. Our paper investigates whether the platform should share her private demand information with two manufacturers in the reselling or agency selling. The manufacturers offer consumers two substitutable products through the platform. By incorporating eco-friendly efforts into our game-theoretic model, we show that information sharing always benefits manufacturers when the platform serves as a reseller. However, hiding information is preferable for the platform, considering the low efficiency of eco-friendly investment. For the platform, she is willing to disclose information to one or both manufacturers with relatively high efficiency. Nevertheless, the platform is willing to disclose information to both manufacturers (only one manufacturer) when the efficiency is low (high) in the agency selling. Moreover, when manufacturers compete more intensely on eco-friendly levels, the platform is more likely to disclose information to one or both manufacturers in the reselling, but more intense competition for eco-friendly levels prevents the platform from disclosing information to more manufacturers in the agency selling. Furthermore, both manufacturers’ eco-friendly levels always respond positively to the demand signal. Finally, we consider the disparity in carbon emissions between green and non-green manufacturers in the extension. We find that disclosing the demand information to both manufacturers is more efficient in reducing carbon emissions than sharing with only one manufacturer.

Optimal Salesforce Compensation with General Demand and Operational Considerations

Problem definition: We investigate the optimal salesforce compensation scheme in the context of private information and unobservable actions, considering common operational factors encountered in practice, including inventory costs, contractible versus censored demand information, and controlled versus delegated ordering. Methodology/results: Based on an agency model with general demand and cost functions, we derive optimality conditions for implementable contracts that can achieve the second-best outcome in all scenarios. The contracts are in the forms of a menu with linear compensation for demand or sales, incorporating inventory costs. Moreover, the contracts feature adjustments in compensation corresponding to the ordering level if it is delegated. Managerial implications: Our study reveals that, under reasonably mild conditions, optimal salesforce contracts can still maintain relatively simple forms, even when confronted with common operational factors and generalized demand and cost functions. However, the contracts must be tailored to suit the operational settings. Intriguingly, neither the loss of demand information nor the delegation of inventory decisions would compromise system efficiency at optimum. Funding: H. Song is partially supported by the Key International Cooperation and Exchange Projects of the NSFC [Grant W2411062] and the Foundation for Innovative Research Groups of the NSFC [Grant 71821002]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/msom.2022.0400 .

Search for medical information for chronic rhinosinusitis through an artificial intelligence ChatBot.

Artificial intelligence is evolving and significantly impacting health care, promising to transform access to medical information. With the rise of medical misinformation and frequent internet searches for health-related advice, there is a growing demand for reliable patient information. This study assesses the effectiveness of ChatGPT in providing information and treatment options for chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Six inputs were entered into ChatGPT regarding the definition, prevalence, causes, symptoms, treatment options, and postoperative complications of CRS. International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology guidelines for Rhinosinusitis was the gold standard for evaluating the answers. The inputs were categorized into three categories and Flesch-Kincaid readability, ANOVA and trend analysis tests were used to assess them. Although some discrepancies were found regarding CRS, ChatGPT's answers were largely in line with existing literature. Mean Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and passive voice percentage were (40.7%, 12.15%, 22.5%) for basic information and prevalence category, (47.5%, 11.2%, 11.1%) for causes and symptoms category, (33.05%, 13.05%, 22.25%) for treatment and complications, and (40.42%, 12.13%, 18.62%) across all categories. ANOVA indicated no statistically significant differences in readability across the categories (p-values: Flesch Reading Ease = 0.385, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level = 0.555, Passive Sentences = 0.601). Trend analysis revealed readability varied slightly, with a general increase in complexity. ChatGPT is a developing tool potentially useful for patients and medical professionals to access medical information. However, caution is advised as its answers may not be fully accurate compared to clinical guidelines or suitable for patients with varying educational backgrounds.Level of evidence: 4.

Direct Mail or Bonded Warehouse? Logistics Mode Selection in Cross-Border E-Commerce under Exchange Rate Risk

The rapid development of cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has enabled more suppliers to expand into overseas markets, meeting increasingly diverse consumer demands. Selecting an effective logistics mode is a crucial issue for suppliers, yet uncertainty in demand and exchange rate fluctuations make this problem challenging. This paper considers a supply chain consisting of a supplier and a CBEC platform. Using a distributionally robust optimization approach, we provide optimal overseas warehousing strategies and logistics mode selection for suppliers, given partial distribution information of market demand and exchange rate, such as means, variances, and covariances. It is found that when demand and exchange rate fluctuations are small, the supplier chooses the bonded warehouse logistics mode to reduce costs. Conversely, when demand and exchange rate fluctuations increase, the supplier opts for the direct mail mode to respond flexibly to market risk. The correlation between exchange rate and demand also affects the choice of logistics mode. Specifically, with low correlation, the preference is for the bonded warehouse mode, whereas high correlation leads suppliers to choose the direct mail mode. In addition, the impact of demand and exchange rate fluctuations on suppliers’ overseas warehousing volumes depends on the product’s profit margin. These findings provide guidance for the selection of CBEC logistics under exchange rate risk.

On the EPA's Radar: The Role of Financial Reports in Environmental Regulatory Oversight

ABSTRACTThis paper investigates the role of corporate financial reports in the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) regulatory activities. By tracking the EPA's direct retrieval of SEC filings, we identify three key findings. First, the EPA retrieves a large volume of financial reports, especially from firms in high‐pollution industries. Second, the EPA is more likely to access financial reports during enforcement investigations and significant rule proposals, but less so during compliance monitoring, with patterns varying predictably across firms. Third, the EPA's reliance on financial reports is potentially driven by its demand for information on firm liquidity, solvency, and profitability. Overall, our study highlights the usefulness of financial reports for the EPA as an environmental regulator.

Determining calf traceability and cow–calf relationships in extensive farming using geolocation collars and BLE ear tags

Extensive farming is often considered very beneficial to animals for its potential to enhance animal welfare, providing animals with free-range access to their natural environment where they can engage in innate behaviors like grazing and exploration. However, despite these benefits, extensive production still faces welfare and health challenges due to unpredictable weather conditions and limited supervision by stockholders. Moreover, increasing consumer demand for information regarding food quality, safety, and production conditions poses a challenge for extensive farming, where animals are less controlled. Precision livestock farming (PLF) emerges as a possible solution by enabling the continuous real-time monitoring of the health, welfare, and behavior of animals. A novel approach combining geolocation collars for cows and Bluetooth low energy (BLE) ear tags for calves appears promising to enhance traceability and monitoring in extensive farming. Nevertheless, challenges persist, including limitations in the data transmission capacity and associated costs. This study evaluated the effectiveness of combining geolocation collars and BLE ear tags for monitoring calf traceability and cow–calf relationships across three scenarios: 1) Equilibrated: same collar/ear tag ratio; good coverage; 2) intermediate: more collars than ear tags; fair coverage; 3) worst: more ear tags than collars; lousy coverage. Our results indicate that the equilibrated scenario (ES) with an equal number of geolocation collars and BLE ear tags, was the best scenario, demonstrating the highest fix rate (22%) and the longest mean consecutive days of detecting the same ear tag (22.30 days), followed by the intermediate scenario (IS) and the worst scenario. In all scenarios, there was a mean period of 14–15 d without detecting a calf. However, this shortcoming can be overcome as calves usually graze alongside their mothers, ensuring comprehensive traceability in farm breeding. Additionally, by comparing differences in the number of ear tags received from offspring compared to other calves, the BLE ear tags successfully associated every mother with their calf in the ES and IS. Finally, this valuable information, would enable the development of a traceability system that ensures transparency and reliability throughout the supply chain and could allow consumers to access to product information related to animal welfare.

Robust ordering, production, and replenishment in a supply chain for innovative products: A two-echelon newsvendor problem with partial information in yield and demand

With partial yield and demand information, we investigate a two-echelon newsvendor problem in a supply chain for innovative product, in which the retailer and the supplier make sequential decisions in ordering, production, and replenishment, respectively. We adopt the minimax-regret criterion to assume the risk-averse nature and deduce the minimax-regret inventory decisions. We explore replenishment (emergency) production strategies for the supplier. Then we propose shortage penalty strategies as well as subsidized replenishment strategies for the retailer so that the supplier can maintain the required supply even under higher replenishment production costs. We further reveal the role of information uncertainty in the minimax-regret decisions and the bullwhip effect. Interestingly, the results show that the penalty strategies do not always lead to less regret for the retailer, and the information uncertainty does not necessarily lead to greater regret for the supplier. Moreover, some schemes to reduce the bullwhip effect are proposed, such as improving the accuracy of uncertain yield, increasing shortage penalty or replenishment subsidy, and decreasing replenishment cost. It is verified that the replenishment strategies can increase profits for both the retailer and the supplier under some conditions. In extensions, we reveal the supplier’s preference for emergency production and external procurement, as well as preferences for information sharing and confidentiality. Meanwhile, we find that decentralized decision-making may even outperform centralized decision-making in some situations when the minimax-regret criterion is adopted to deal with the information deficiency. Finally, the robustness of the replenishment strategies in reducing both enterprises’ regrets is checked.

Hybrid financing in a dual‐channel supply chain with asymmetric demand information

AbstractThis study delves into the interaction between hybrid financing and asymmetric demand information within a dual‐channel supply chain. In this setup, the supplier directly sells to customers and also through a capital‐constrained retailer. We investigate a unique financing approach involving a blend of bank loans and supplier equity investment to support the retailer's operational (procurement and marketing) activities. Analyzing the equilibrium strategies under both symmetric and asymmetric information settings yields intriguing insights. In the case of symmetric information, we find that the retailer's equilibrium order quantity decreases with the potential market size under hybrid financing, contrary to traditional notions. When asymmetric information is present, a higher acceptance of supplier equity investment by the retailer tends to lead to order quantity distortion downward, increasing signaling costs. Furthermore, a greater proportion of supplier equity investment prompts the retailer to order more products, ultimately boosting profits for both the retailer and supplier. This suggests that supplier equity investment can enhance supply chain efficiency and alleviate the double marginalization effect.