Corporate finance in the digital age

Jiang, Zhonghao (2024) Corporate finance in the digital age. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis, structured into three chapters, delves into novel and significant research questions in corporate finance within the digital age, employing advanced quantitative methodologies: 1. Social Connectedness and Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions; 2. Remote or Face-to-Face: CEO Interviews and Investor Disagreement; 3. Climate Change Exposure and Mutual Fund Ownership. Chapter 1 investigates the role of social connectedness in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). Using Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index, the chapter shows that social connectedness induces higher stock returns to acquirers’ M&A announcements. Social connectedness works through an information dissemination channel, which reduces target premiums, increases the completion rate, and facilitates long-run success. Chapter 2 examines the financial implications of CEOs’ information disclosure modalities. Using CEOs’ televised media interviews on CNBC, the chapter finds that, compared to face-to-face interviews, remote interviews are associated with larger investor disagreement around the interview date. The lack of medium richness in remote interviews can lead to increased dispersion in information interpretation among investors, resulting in larger investor disagreement. Chapter 3 documents a negative implication of firms’ climate change exposure on their mutual fund ownership, using Sauter et al. (2023)’s climate change exposure index. This thesis provides insights into the evolving corporate finance in the digital age, by employing diverse and dynamic data sources and analytical tools, such as textual analysis and bridging sociological concepts, CEO behaviors, and environmental concerns with corporate finance.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Digital age, cross-border M&As, social connectedness, CEO interview, investor disagreement, climate change exposure, mutual fund ownership.
• Subjects: H Social Sciences > HG Finance
• Colleges/Schools: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School > Accounting and Finance
• Supervisor's Name: Shi, Dr. Yukun and Xing, Dr. Lu
• Date of Award: 2024
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2024-84650
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 05 Nov 2024 09:12
• Last Modified: 05 Nov 2024 09:16
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.84650
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/84650