Disclosure incentives when competing firms have common ownership

This paper examines whether common ownership – i.e., instances where investors simultaneously own significant stakes in competing firms – affects voluntary disclosure. We argue that common ownership (i) reduces proprietary cost concerns of disclosure, and (ii) incentivizes firms to “internalize” the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of accounting & economics 2019-04, Vol.67 (2-3), p.387-415
Main Authors: Park, Jihwon, Sani, Jalal, Shroff, Nemit, White, Hal
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:This paper examines whether common ownership – i.e., instances where investors simultaneously own significant stakes in competing firms – affects voluntary disclosure. We argue that common ownership (i) reduces proprietary cost concerns of disclosure, and (ii) incentivizes firms to “internalize” the externality benefits of their disclosure for co-owned peer firms. Accordingly, we find a positive relation between common ownership and disclosure. Evidence from cross-sectional tests and a quasi-natural experiment based on financial institution mergers help mitigate concerns that our results are explained by an omitted variable bias or reverse causality. Finally, we find that common ownership is associated with increased market liquidity.
ISSN:0165-4101
1879-1980
DOI:10.1016/j.jacceco.2019.02.001