{"title":"Product market competition and R&D disclosure transparency: evidence from earnings communication conferences in China","authors":"Mengshu Hao , Yuan He","doi":"10.1016/j.jcae.2025.100487","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines how product market competition influences firms’ R&D disclosure transparency. Using a novel text-based measure derived from the transcripts of earnings communication conferences (ECCs) of Chinese listed firms, we document that increased competition from potential entrants significantly enhances R&D disclosure transparency. This effect is more pronounced among firms that are financially constrained, have stronger incentives to deter new entrants, and face lower proprietary costs. Further analysis shows that greater R&D disclosure transparency is associated with lower financing costs for disclosing firms and reduced R&D activity among their industry peers. Overall, our findings suggest that firms strategically enhance R&D disclosure transparency in response to competitive threats from potential market entrants, balancing the benefits of reduced financing costs and entry deterrence against the potential risks of revealing proprietary information.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":46693,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics","volume":"21 3","pages":"Article 100487"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9000,"publicationDate":"2025-06-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1815566925000347","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study examines how product market competition influences firms’ R&D disclosure transparency. Using a novel text-based measure derived from the transcripts of earnings communication conferences (ECCs) of Chinese listed firms, we document that increased competition from potential entrants significantly enhances R&D disclosure transparency. This effect is more pronounced among firms that are financially constrained, have stronger incentives to deter new entrants, and face lower proprietary costs. Further analysis shows that greater R&D disclosure transparency is associated with lower financing costs for disclosing firms and reduced R&D activity among their industry peers. Overall, our findings suggest that firms strategically enhance R&D disclosure transparency in response to competitive threats from potential market entrants, balancing the benefits of reduced financing costs and entry deterrence against the potential risks of revealing proprietary information.