Local Peer Research Articles

Does industry co-location improve corporate information environment?

This study examines how the co-location of firms within the same industry enhances their information environments. We hypothesize that benefits arise from two effects: the industry peer effect, involving intra-industry information spillovers, and the geographic peer effect, related to shared local economic conditions with nearby non-industry peers. Our analysis evaluates how these effects, both separately and jointly, impact analysts’ forecast properties and stock price informativeness regarding future earnings. We find that the industry peer effect is negatively related to forecast dispersion and positively related to forecast accuracy, while the geographic peer effect shows no significant correlation. In addition, stock price informativeness about future earnings is positively associated with the industry peer effect but not with the geographic peer effect. We also find that greater proximity to industry or local peers enables analysts to incorporate more private (relative to public) information into their earnings forecasts, thereby enhancing the firm’s information environment. JEL CLASSIFICATION: M41, D80, G10

Adoption of Chinese cars and the shift to electric vehicles: Early evidence from Norway

Chinese auto manufacturers have started exporting electric cars to developed markets. I study data from the world’s leading market for electric vehicles, Norway, to provide some early descriptive evidence on the patterns of Chinese-brand new car sales. Using a Bayesian multilevel regression model, I find evidence of local peer effects: A higher proportion of sales of a Chinese branded car in a postal code increases the probability of a new car sale being Chinese. I also hypothesize that municipalities with high penetrations of electric cars will be associated with higher penetrations of Chinese-branded new car sales. I do not find evidence for this.

Understanding the online restaurant rating bias induced by air pollution and the underlying spatial and temporal effects

Using unique restaurant review data in the urban tourism system combined with air quality data in the Chinese context, we confirmed the air pollution-induced mood misattribution in terms of negative online restaurant rating bias. Further heterogeneity analyses grounded in expectancy-disconfirmation theory were conducted. Tests regarding air quality differences across geography (i.e. the spatial effect) show that good air quality in the city where a restaurant is located can induce a stronger online rating bias. Tourists, especially those who are from cities with poor air quality, tend to post biased online restaurant ratings on polluted days compared with their local peers. For locals, their online restaurant rating bias is additionally determined by air quality differences over time (i.e. the temporal effect), suggesting the significance of persistent air pollution rather than by air quality deterioration. Overall, our work highlights the importance of air pollution, an external environmental stimulus, in shaping consumers’ online rating bias towards restaurant services. This underscores the need for guidelines by regarding air pollution that inform sustainable urban planning and destination management.

Contagious corporate reputation risk: Uncovering the pandemic's impact

Firms' Reputation Risk Index (RRI) co-move with their industry and local peers in the US market, suggesting that managers follow their industry and local peers to conduct ESG-related irresponsible activities. Moreover, the RRI co-movement with local peers is attenuated during the COVID-19 pandemic period, and the reduction is more significant in democratic states with stringent social distancing policies and in states with higher pandemic mortality rates. In contrast, the industry-level RRI co-movement is not significantly affected during the pandemic period. Our findings suggest that social interactions among local managers may be an essential driver for the regional RRI co-movement before the pandemic.

Association of Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Technical Skills and Outcomes of Robotic-assisted Radical Prostatectomy

ObjectiveTo investigate if use of the Crowd-Sourced Assessment of Technical Skills (CSATSTM) platform and video peer review with constructive feedback is associated with improvement in technical skill and patient outcomes for robotic-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). MethodsFive fellowship-trained urologists voluntarily submitted RALP cases for CSATSTM Global Evaluative Assessment of Robotic Skills (GEARS) scoring and expert narrative review between April 15, 2022 - April 30, 2023. Surgeon-selected and randomly-selected cases were reviewed. Surgeons underwent local peer review of videos with constructive feedback. Change in GEARS scores and frequency of post-operative outcomes over the 12-month periods before and during the study were analyzed in logistic regression models. Bias was assessed with sensitivity analysis comparing surgeon-selected to randomly-selected cases. ResultsGEARS scores for randomly-selected versus surgeon-selected cases did not differ significantly. Overall GEARS score correlated positively with annual surgical RALP volume (r=0.39, p=0.003) and negatively with years in practice (r=-0.34, p=0.01). After adjusting for confounders, there was no significant improvement in overall GEARS Score (0.01±0.02/month, p=0.48); but likelihood of sepsis (Odds Ratio 0.07, 95% CI 0.01-1.00, p=0.05) and pelvic fluid collection (Odds Ratio 0.09, 95% CI 0.01-0.99, p=0.049) were significantly decreased during the intervention period (n=165) compared to the prior 12 months (n=144). No outcome increased in likelihood (p>0.05). ConclusionsIntegration of CSATSTM and local video peer review is associated with significant improvement in patient outcomes after RALP, despite no significant change in surgeons’ GEARS scores. This is the first study demonstrating improvement in patient RALP outcomes after implementation of such a paradigm in practicing surgeons.

The effect of foreigner talk on children’s evaluations of addressees

Children evaluate others based on how they speak, but do children evaluate others based on how they are spoken to? We examined how U.S. children and adults (N = 170 5- to 10-year-olds, 49 % female; 107 adults; in a city with a foreign population of 17.9 %) evaluated addressees of Foreigner Talk (i.e., slow, loud, simplified speech). In Study 1, children and adults evaluated Foreigner Talk addressees more negatively than Peer Talk or Teacher Talk addressees. In Study 2, adults and older children incorporated Foreigner Talk with additional contextual cues to inform their evaluations: a local peer receiving Foreigner Talk received lower evaluations than a foreign peer receiving Foreigner Talk. With medium to large effect sizes, these studies indicate the importance of speech register in children’s social inferences.

Productivity Shocks of Dominant Companies and Local Housing Markets

We extend the literature on the influence of firm-level characteristics on housing markets by exploring the association between the labor productivity shocks of dominant firms and local housing prices. Using a sample of all U.S. firms from COMPUSTAT during 1980-2017, we find that the aggregate shocks of labor productivity of dominant firms at the metropolitan statistical area (MSA)-level explain for a significant portion of the local housing price changes in MSAs while controlling for other housing price determinants. About a year or more is required for the shocks to propagate through the local housing markets, which make them a viable predictor of future housing price. The productivity shock – housing price relation is stronger in areas that have more concentrated high-tech dominant firms or where dominant firms have closer links to their local non-dominant industry peers. Shocks are also more influential during economic expansion than economic contraction. Furthermore, the relation also exists at the zipcode level but the shocks propagate faster than at the MSA-level. The findings provide helpful insights for real estate practitioners and policymakers, especially in areas with a higher concentration of large companies.

Suicide Prevention by Peers Offering Recovery Tactics (SUPPORT) for US Veterans With Serious Mental Illness: Community Engagement Approach.

Peer specialists are hired, trained, and accredited to share their lived experience of psychiatric illness to support other similar individuals through the recovery process. There are limited data on the role of peer specialists in suicide prevention, including their role in intervention development. To better understand peer specialists within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), we followed partnership community engagement and a formative research approach to intervention development to (1) identify barriers, facilitators, and perceptions of VHA peer specialists delivering a suicide prevention service and (2) develop and refine an intervention curriculum based on an evidence-informed preliminary intervention framework for veterans with serious mental illness (SMI). Following the community engagement approach, VHA local and national peer support and mental health leaders, veterans with SMI, and veteran peer specialists met to develop a preliminary intervention framework. Next, VHA peer specialist advisors (n=5) and scientific advisors (n=6) participated in respective advisory boards and met every 2-4 months for more than 18 months via videoconferencing to address study objectives. The process used was a reflexive thematic analysis after each advisory board meeting. The themes discussed included (1) the desire for suicide prevention training for peer specialists, (2) determining the role of VHA peer specialists in suicide prevention, (3) integration of recovery themes in suicide prevention, and (4) difficulties using safety plans during a crisis. There were no discrepancies in thematic content between advisory boards. Advisor input led to the development of Suicide Prevention by Peers Offering Recovery Tactics (SUPPORT). SUPPORT includes training in general suicide prevention and a peer specialist-delivered intervention for veterans with SMI at an increased suicide risk. This training aims to increase the competence and confidence of peer specialists in suicide prevention and the intervention supports veterans with SMI at an increased suicide risk through their recovery process. This paper intends to document the procedures taken in suicide prevention intervention development, specifically those led by peer specialists, and to be a source for future research developing and evaluating similar interventions. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05537376; https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05537376.

Emergency Department Referral of Patients With Chest Pain for Noninvasive Cardiac Testing and 2-Year Clinical Outcomes.

Noninvasive cardiac testing (NICT) has been associated with decreased long-term risks of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) among emergency department patients at high coronary risk. It is unclear whether this association extends to patients without evidence of myocardial injury on initial ECG and cardiac troponin testing. A retrospective cohort study was conducted of patients presenting with chest pain between 2013 and 2019 to 21 emergency departments within an integrated health care system in Northern California, excluding patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction or myocardial injury by serum troponin testing. To account for confounding by indication, we grouped patient encounters by the NICT referral rate of the initially assigned emergency physician relative to local peers within discrete time periods. The primary outcome was MACE within 2 years. Secondary outcomes were coronary revascularization and MACE, inclusive of all-cause mortality. Associations between the NICT referral group (low, intermediate, or high) and outcomes were assessed using risk-adjusted proportional hazards methods with censoring for competing events. Among 144 577 eligible patient encounters, the median age was 58 years (interquartile range, 48-68) and 57% were female. Thirty-day NICT referral was 13.0%, 19.9%, and 27.8% in low, intermediate, and high NICT referral groups, respectively, with a good balance of baseline covariates between groups. Compared with the low NICT referral group, there was no significant decrease in the adjusted hazard ratio of MACE within the intermediate (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.08 [95% CI, 1.02-1.14]) or high (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.05 [95% CI, 0.99-1.11]) NICT referral groups. Results were similar for MACE, inclusive of all-cause mortality, and coronary revascularization, as well as subgroup analyses stratified by estimated risk (history, electrocardiogram, age, risk factors, troponin [HEART] score: percent classified as low risk, 48.2%; moderate risk, 49.2%; and high risk, 2.7%). Increases in NICT referrals were not associated with changes in the hazard of MACE within 2 years following emergency department visits for chest pain without evidence of acute myocardial injury. These findings further highlight the need for evidence-based guidance regarding the appropriate use of NICT in this population.

Local peer influence on dividend payout decisions

Using a large sample of US-listed firms, we examine how firms’ dividend payout decisions are influenced by the dividend policies of their local peers. We find that the decisions to increase and decrease dividends are both influenced by the payout choices of firms headquartered in the same locality. We show that local peer effects are driven by the desire to compete for local dividend clineteles, with local peer effects proving more pronounced in geographies with greater retail investors clienteles, institutional-tax clienteles, and agency-cost clienteles. In contrast to dividends, share repurchases are not influenced by local peer repurchase decisions. Our findings prove robust to various sampling methods, peer portfolios, model specifications, and estimation techniques.

Initial public offerings and the local economy: evidence of crowding out

Abstract We test the effect of going public on economic growth in the areas surrounding initial public offering (IPO) firms. We compare the effects of IPO filers that complete their IPOs with those that do not, using post-filing stock market fluctuations as an instrument for IPO completion. We show that IPOs that are large relative to the size of their counties lead to a 1.1 percentage point relative reduction in annual county-level establishment growth, with similar effects for employment and population growth. There are no corresponding effects for relatively small IPOs. These negative effects appear to be driven by a crowding out of local sector peers, but the crowding out also disrupts local agglomerations and slows down growth among other businesses that rely on local demand. Overall, our results indicate that macroeconomic gains from IPOs trade off against disruptions in local agglomeration economies where public firms originate.

Abstract 1307: Community-driven support platform BlueHQ: An innovative solution to address the needs of patients with colorectal cancer

Abstract Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. To manage the disease, patients and caregivers turn to various tools and resources for financial assistance, information dissemination, emotional and peer support, and treatment planning, among other critical issues and needs they face. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) created BlueHQ to provide patients and caregivers with a resource solution encompassing all potential areas of need. Methods: A survey aimed at understanding needs, barriers, and quality improvement opportunities was disseminated via the Alliance's Blue Hope Nation community for two weeks and by email. One hundred sixty-seven colorectal cancer patients and forty caregivers of colorectal cancer patients completed the survey. Results: Patients and caregiver respondents report reliance on external tools and resources to manage disease and support information. Of the support methods, patient respondents reported using social media (46.11%); notebooks, journals, and planners (45.41%); online articles (44.91%); the Blue Hope Nation Facebook group (41.32%); cancer discussion boards (35.33%); and spiritual or religious advice (29.94%). Patients sought financial assistance, local peer support and groups, and mental health help to minimize diagnosis-related stressors. To provide more efficient care and limit stress, the community suggested financial help, communication and support from other patients and caregivers, and informational resources. Conclusions: These survey results are consistent with other published learnings about patient and caregiver reliance on support tools and highlight the myriad resources that patients and caregivers currently use for managing CRC. BlueHQ is a support solution that provides patients and caregivers with access to information and resources tailored to users’ specified profiles, including molecular characteristics of the tumor. Users can also store documents and information from healthcare encounters, creating a longitudinal record and tracking disease progression. In the age of precision oncology, BlueHQ ensures patients and users are presented with personalized educational materials and multimedia resources to help manage their disease and bridge the gaps in patient support. BlueHQ was explicitly designed to connect the CRC community to the latest therapeutic and clinical research resources to improve outcomes and quality of life for all CRC patients. Citation Format: Kimberly Lynn Newcomer. Community-driven support platform BlueHQ: An innovative solution to address the needs of patients with colorectal cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 1307.

Elevated levels of loneliness in migrant children compared to nonmigrant children in urban China: a systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative studies.

About one in four children in China is a migrant child. This population has a higher risk of experiencing loneliness. However, existing studies present conflicting findings regarding the levels of loneliness among migrant children as compared to local urban children in urban China. This review performs a meta-analysis of studies comparing loneliness levels between these two groups. A literature search of major Chinese- and English-language databases revealed 27 eligible comparative studies. These studies reported the means and standardized deviations of loneliness scores for both migrant and nonmigrant children in urban China. Meta-analysis results showed that migrant children experienced significantly higher levels of loneliness than their urban nonmigrant counterparts [standardized mean difference (SMD) = 0.21, P < 0.001]. Subgroup analysis revealed that studies enrolling migrant children from migrant children's schools had significantly higher pooled SMDs than those enrolling children from public schools (0.346 vs. 0.120, P = 0.047). Migrant children in urban China experience higher levels of loneliness compared to their local urban peers. Efforts to create a socially inclusive, migrant-friendly environment and reduce social isolation among migrant children are crucial to help alleviate their feelings of loneliness.

Peer effects of corporate green innovation: Evidence from China's listed firms

We investigate how firms react to their industry and local peers’ commitment to and adoption of corporate green innovation (CGI). We find that in addition to the industry link, the peer effects of CGI also exist on the basis of geographic proximity. We further explore several channels through which the peer effects of CGI are motivated. We show that the industry peer effect of CGI is a response to competitive pressure and risk aversion, while the local peer effect of CGI is mainly driven by a firm's incentives to enhance green reputation. Our findings remain robust when using a spatial econometric model and considering nonlocal leading industry CGI portfolio and regional variations in sensitivities to macro shocks.

Safety between the lines – the role, meaning and practice of pen-pal writing in the life of a young Finnish evacuee girl (1939–1945)

ABSTRACT This article examines the role, meaning, and practice of letter writing in the lives of two Finnish girls during the Second World War (WWII). We use a particular set of letters (N = 41) from the wartime letter collection kept in the Tampere University Folklife Archives and argue that they give us an interesting perspective on not only the girls’ wartime experiences, but also on the role of communication and pen-pal writing in everyday life. In particular, we focus on one evacuee – Ritva – who during the period 1939–1945 changed class six times, requiring her to constantly adapt to new class environments and peer relationships. However, from 1942 onwards, the correspondence with her pen pal Ella provided Ritva with a sense of continuous friendship free from the pressures of local peers. We suggest that pen-pal writing formed an arena of communication which allowed the two girls to share experiences, nurture mutual feelings, and give each other support – elements which might have sometimes been lacking in relationships they had locally with adults and peers at this time. In theoretical terms, this article is inspired by approaches from the history of experiences and history of emotions. These provide useful concepts for pinpointing the historical and cultural layers involved in the social process of cultivating a pen-pal correspondence.

The Lived Experiences of Anxiety and Depression Support Philippines’ (ADSP) Members amid Public Stigma: A Phenomenological Hermeneutic Study

The study is a qualitative phenomenological hermeneutic that explored the lived experiences of Anxiety and Depression Support Philippines' (ADSP) members amid public stigma and the role of ADSP in these experiences. The main purposes of the study are (1) to fill the gap in the literature on the role of local mental health peer support groups in the lives of its members amid public stigma and (2) to highlight the role of local mental health support groups. Six participants were interviewed with a semi-structured interview protocol through Zoom. A step-by-step procedure of Creswell's thematic analysis was employed. The emerging themes and subthemes were the following: Major Textural Theme 1, Day-to-Day Personal Challenges (with subthemes, Somatic Symptoms and Costly Treatment), Major Textural Theme 2, Stigma Experienced from the Public (with subthemes, Invisibility of Mental Health Condition, Imposement of Spiritual Beliefs, Pill Shaming Phenomenon, and Deregatory Stereotypes), Major Structural Theme, Meaning (with subthemes, Shared Struggles, Acknowledgment of Proper Treatment, and Being Unbothered), and Major Textural Theme 3, Role of ADSP (Providing Emotional Support, Preventing Suicide, Assisting in Help-Seeking, and Actualizing Potential). Some of the recommendations were future research to examine and explore the structure and dynamics of Filipino-based mental health support groups to further address the needs of individuals with mental health conditions or psychological disorders (particularly anxiety and depression) and national-level encouragement of the development of accessible Filipino–based mental health support groups. The research will also contribute to the pool of local research exploring the same topic or related topics.

Local peers and corporate reporting behavior

We find that firms exhibit greater earnings similarity when compared to industry peers in the same city, as the number of local peers increases. This is due to the potential adverse consequences of underperforming relative to local peers. As the number of local peers increases, there is increased local competition, which creates pressure to perform as well as competitors. Firms respond to this pressure by exhibiting earnings similarity to meet market expectations and to take advantage of external financing and growth opportunities. However, we show that this mimicking behavior creates a false similarity and is achieved by firms reporting higher levels of unexpected accruals. This is consistent with the idea that mimicking allows firms to maintain their relative performance with local rivals. These results continue to hold for a sample of firms that move to a location with a higher number of local peers than their initial location. We also find that firms in cities with more peers have a greater likelihood of earnings misstatements. In cross-sectional analyses, the adverse effect of more local peers on earnings quality is stronger for firms with greater market attention, where external financing dependence is higher, and among firms in locations with more growth opportunities. Overall, our evidence points to geographic proximity as a key mechanism in a firm’s reporting behavior in that firms mimic to produce a false similarity in earnings that is achieved through accruals management.

Improving Quality in Social Work: The Role of Peer Challenge

Abstract Network-based approaches to improvement and specifically, peer challenges have become an integral part of quality assurance in adult social work in England. Whilst the national regulation change in 2011 placed greater weight on local accountability, very few studies have examined the contribution of peer challenges towards improving the quality of adult social work practice. Peer challenge is a process of engaging a wide range of people and experienced peers in relevant service areas to offer a review from the perspective of a critical friend. This article considers how a regional peer challenge process in the West Midlands of England contributed to improving social work practice and processes, which supported this contribution. Drawing on data from fifteen interviews and forty-four survey responses, findings suggest that peer challenges in the short term can have positive impacts including, an understanding of the internal practice conditions and external context, strengths and limitations of social work practice, and the perspectives of local stakeholders and external peers on opportunities to improve practice. The design, commitment to transparency and trust by all parties enable honest reflection and a shared learning experience. To understand long-term impacts, we suggest establishing formal follow-up processes together with developing key baseline indicators to track impacts.

Rebels with a cause? How norm violations shape dominance, prestige, and influence granting.

Norms play an important role in upholding orderly and well-functioning societies. Indeed, violations of norms can undermine social coordination and stability. Much is known about the antecedents of norm violations, but their social consequences are poorly understood. In particular, it remains unclear when and how norm violators gain or lose influence in groups. Some studies found that norm violators elicit negative responses that curtail their influence in groups, whereas other studies documented positive consequences that enhance violators' influence. We propose that the complex relationship between norm violation and influence can be understood by considering that norm violations differentially shape perceptions of dominance and prestige, which tend to have opposite effects on voluntary influence granting, depending on the type of norm that is violated. We first provide correlational (Study 1) and causal (Study 2) evidence that norm violations are associated with dominance, and norm abidance with prestige. We then examine how dominance, prestige, and resultant influence granting are shaped by whether local group norms and/or global community norms are violated. In Study 3, protagonists who violated global (university) norms but followed local (sorority/fraternity) norms were more strongly endorsed as leaders than protagonists who followed global norms but violated local norms, because the former were perceived not only as high on dominance but also on prestige. In Study 4, popular high-school students were remembered as violating global (school) norms while abiding by local (peer) norms. In Study 5, individuals who violated global (organizational) norms while abiding by local (team) norms were assigned more leadership tasks when global and local norms conflicted (making violators "rebels with a cause") than when norms did not conflict, because the former situation inspired greater prestige. We discuss implications for the social dynamics of norms, hierarchy development, and leader emergence.

Community driven support platform BlueHQ: An innovative solution to address the needs of patients with colorectal cancer.

330 Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third-most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. In efforts to manage the disease, patients and caregivers turn to various tools and resources for financial assistance, information dissemination, emotional and peer support, and treatment planning, among other critical issues and needs they face. The Colorectal Cancer Alliance (the Alliance) created BlueHQ to provide patients and caregivers with a resource solution that encompasses all potential areas of need. Methods: A survey aimed at understanding needs, barriers, and quality improvement opportunities was disseminated via the Alliance's Blue Hope Nation community for two weeks and by email. One hundred sixty-seven colorectal cancer patients and forty caregivers of colorectal cancer patients completed the survey. Results: Patients and caregiver respondents report reliance on external tools and resources to manage disease and support information. Of the support methods, patient respondents reported using social media (46.11%); notebooks, journals, and planners (45.41%); online articles (44.91%); the Blue Hope Nation Facebook group (41.32%); cancer discussion boards (35.33%); and spiritual or religious advice (29.94%). To minimize diagnosis-related stressors, patients reported seeking financial assistance, local peer support and groups, and mental health help. To provide more efficient care and limit stress, the community suggested financial help, communication and support from other patients and caregivers, and informational resources. Conclusions: These survey results are consistent with other published learnings about patient and caregiver reliance on support tools and highlight the myriad resources that patients and caregivers currently use for managing CRC. BlueHQ is a support solution that provides patients and caregivers with access to information and resources tailored to users’ specified profiles, including molecular characteristics of the tumor. Users can also store documents and information from healthcare encounters, creating a longitudinal record and tracking disease progression. In the age of precision oncology, BlueHQ ensures patients and users are presented with personalized educational materials and multimedia resources to help manage their disease and bridge the gaps in patient support. BlueHQ was explicitly designed to connect the CRC community to the latest therapeutic and clinical research resources to improve outcomes and quality of life for all CRC patients.