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Article
Publication date: 18 September 2023

David Bodoff and Iris Hirsch

The purpose of this research paper is to study attitudinal responses to the tone of a voluntary disclosure. It is known that tone can affect market response. Existing literature…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this research paper is to study attitudinal responses to the tone of a voluntary disclosure. It is known that tone can affect market response. Existing literature assumes that investors' attitudes mediate these effects, but these attitudinal mediators have not been directly measured. The authors are especially interested in cases where a firm is reporting poor financial results. The purpose is to trace the mechanism and conditions under which tone affects the credibility of a voluntary disclosure.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a 2 × 2 between-subjects study that manipulates financial performance (good/bad) and tone (positive/negative). The attitudinal dependent variable is the credibility of the management discussion, with persuasive intent as a mediator of the effects of tone on credibility.

Findings

In the case of bad financial results, a positive tone has a negative effect on credibility as the authors predict. This effect is fully mediated by perceived “persuasive intent”. In the case of good financial performance, credibility is higher when management adopts a positive tone, even though there, too, subjects perceive the persuasive intent.

Research limitations/implications

The research paper establishes a bridge between the communications and finance literature on the effect of tone in voluntary disclosures. The empirical findings provide initial evidence and new detail regarding an attitudinal response (credibility) that the finance literature often assumes is responsible for mediating market responses to voluntary disclosures. One unexpected finding with interesting implications is that positive tone increases credibility in the case of good news. The implication is that a firm may indulge in taking a victory lap to celebrate good news, without harming the credibility of their corporate communications. Additional research is warranted that combines theory and methods from communications and finance, to further elaborate the attitudinal mechanisms behind the market effects of tone in voluntary disclosures.

Originality/value

At the most general level, the original contribution is the creation of a theoretical and methodological bridge between the communications and finance literature, regarding the effect of tone in voluntary disclosures. This research proposes an integrated theoretical framework, in which the concept of incentives shapes the relationships between the firm's financial situation, a disclosure's tone and its credibility. Methodologically, the authors employ an experimental method, which is more typical in the communications literature, to illuminate the attitudinal effects of tone that are frequently mentioned and assumed in the finance literature.

Details

Corporate Communications: An International Journal, vol. 28 no. 6
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1356-3289

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 30 November 2023

Cameron Hauseman

Several factors and forces in school-level leaders' work can heighten emotions and incite emotionally charged situations. Challenges that heighten school-level leaders' emotions…

Abstract

Several factors and forces in school-level leaders' work can heighten emotions and incite emotionally charged situations. Challenges that heighten school-level leaders' emotions are related to systemic factors, people factors and personal factors. The extent to which each of these different factors influence the emotional experiences of school-level leaders, and whether that influence ends up being positive, negative or neutral, is contextual in nature. The systemic factors include encountering barriers when advocating for students, managing an intensified and expanding workload, working within disorienting policy contexts, and receiving a lack of support from their employer. Changes in school-level leaders' work and workload due to the COVID-19 pandemic that heightened emotions and emotional labour are also considered when discussing the systemic factors. People factors evident in the literature include workplace conflict, gendered power relations and crises and tragedies in the school community. The emotional labour inherent in school-level leadership comes to the forefront when considering the impact of these people factors on emotions at work because school-level leaders are tasked with making decisions that can have an immense impact on peoples' lives. Personal factors discussed in this chapter surround a school-level leader's individual emotional intelligence abilities and media attention directed towards them.

Details

The Emotional Life of School-Level Leaders
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-137-0

Article
Publication date: 18 May 2022

Josette Edwards Pelzer and Robert Stephen Hogan

This study aims to examine the timing of the disclosure of a firm’s environmental certification. In general, certifications comply with signaling and legitimacy theories and serve…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine the timing of the disclosure of a firm’s environmental certification. In general, certifications comply with signaling and legitimacy theories and serve to bolster a firm’s reputation, financial performance and valuation, among other benefits. However, when a firm finds itself facing a reputational threat, it is unclear whether disclosing a recent certification would provide those same benefits or be perceived by investors as “greenwashing” or a disingenuous distraction from the threat.

Design/methodology/approach

This study is based on a case and survey the authors developed that is supported in methodology and approach by past academic work.

Findings

The findings suggest that in the short term, the disclosure of the certification benefits the firm regardless of the current reputational environment, good or bad. More specifically, investors view the certification as a benefit (rather than an attempt to distract) even when its disclosure was immediately proceeded by a reputational threat.

Research limitations/implications

This study is limited by the population of survey respondents from which the authors collected data and their internal predispositions and biases.

Practical implications

This work is applicable to firms that have engaged in certifications or are considering such certifications as well as firms that provide certification services. The study is also relevant to stakeholders and consumers of information related to certifications.

Originality/value

This study is operationalized through the use of a case and survey the authors developed. The research question the authors attempt to answer is derived from a question raised in the literature. The authors are unaware of any other study that addresses this question.

Details

Meditari Accountancy Research, vol. 31 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2049-372X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 13 March 2023

Georgia Zara, Henriette Bergstrøm and David P. Farrington

This paper aims to present new evidence from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) showing the extent to which obstetric (e.g. abnormal birth weight, confinement at…

1967

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present new evidence from the Cambridge Study in Delinquent Development (CSDD) showing the extent to which obstetric (e.g. abnormal birth weight, confinement at birth, severe abnormality of pregnancy, etc.) and early childhood and family factors (illegitimate child, unwanted conception, family overcrowding, etc.) have predictive effects on psychopathic traits measured later in life at age 48 years.

Design/methodology/approach

Data collected in the CSDD are analysed. This is a prospective longitudinal study of 411 London men from age 8 to age 61 years.

Findings

The results suggest that none of the obstetric problems were predictive of adult psychopathy. However, some other early childhood factors were significant. Unwanted conception (by the mother) was significantly associated with high psychopathy. The likelihood of being an unwanted child was higher when the mother was younger (19 years or less), and when the child was illegitimate. The poor health of the mother and living in an overcrowded family were also significant in predicting psychopathy in adulthood, as well as both psychopathic personality (F1) and psychopathic behaviour (F2).

Originality/value

These findings suggest the influence of very early emotional tensions and problematic social background in predicting psychopathic traits in adulthood (at age 48 years). They also emphasise the importance of investigating further the very early roots of psychopathic traits.

Details

Journal of Criminal Psychology, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2009-3829

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2023

Amaia Maseda, Txomin Iturralde, Gloria Aparicio and Sarah Y. Cooper

This study aims to underline the importance of addressing gender issues in family firms. It reinvigorates research in this field by revealing its current state, identifying…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to underline the importance of addressing gender issues in family firms. It reinvigorates research in this field by revealing its current state, identifying research gaps and suggesting future agendas.

Design/methodology/approach

A bibliometric approach using a co-word analysis of 376 papers from the Web of Science database and their 885 keywords was performed to reveal the thematic structure of gender and family firm research, research topics, associations among them and their evolution over the last 30 years (1991–2021).

Findings

This review provides an extensive literature base and suggests research topics that facilitate the adoption of a gendered lens in family firm literature and business practice.

Research limitations/implications

This review demonstrates how gender issues are intertwined with management, leadership and family firm approaches. Our observations inform scholars, policymakers and practitioners on the need to integrate gender issues into organizational culture and to connect empowerment strategies with the sociocultural environment.

Originality/value

This study shows the need to address women’s empowerment in business, considering different sociocultural contexts in addition to a Western focus. It also calls for embracing gender and feminist perspectives in research.

Details

Gender in Management: An International Journal , vol. 38 no. 8
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1754-2413

Keywords

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