Research

Customers’ Response to Firms’ Disclosure of Social Stances: Evidence from Voting Reform Laws

• Co-authors: Hengda Jin, Ken Merkley, and Karen Ton

• Review of Accounting Studies, Forthcoming

• Abstract: We examine customer responses to publicly traded firms speaking out in response to the state of Georgia's voting reform laws. For firms that speak out, we find that customer visits and visitors at their stores decrease relative to the stores of firms that do not speak out. The decrease in customer traffic is stronger for stores in Georgia, predominantly Republican counties, and for firms whose speaking out was emphasized by conservative media sources. The results are weaker for stores in counties with more diverse populations. We also find that total spending, spending per transaction, and spending per customer decrease after firms speak out. Our results are attributed to a decrease in traffic from less frequent customers who spend less time shopping but offset by customers who increase their shopping time. Consistent with offsetting effects, we do not find evidence that speaking out is associated with changes in firm-level financial performance or an equity market response. Our findings highlight different customer responses to speaking out that help us better understand the implications of companies’ engagement in societal issues.

Working Paper: The Transparency of Disciplinary History and Future Misconduct: Evidence from Financial Advisers

• Dissertation

Working Paper: The Impact of an SEC-Induced Increase to Stock Liquidity on Voluntary Disclosure

• Co-authors: Tom Hagenberg, Brian Miller, and Teri Yohn

Working Paper: Does Continuing Education Deter Misconduct? Evidence from Investment Advisers

• Co-authors: Jaesik Kim

Working Paper: Rationalizing Fraud: The Role of Income Inequality in Local Government Fraud

• Co-authors: Andrew Jones and Brian Miller

Please email me for the latest version of any paper.