{"title":"Decoding CSR report: How report readability and tone influence M&A target and acquirer likelihood","authors":"Yufei Li","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107917","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107917","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the influence of CSR textual attributes, particularly complexity and tone, on M&A outcomes for firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges between 2010 and 2023. Using deep learning-based NLP techniques implemented via BERT to measure CSR textual factors and addressing sample selection bias through Heckman’s two-step models, the findings reveal that higher CSR complexity significantly reduces the likelihood of firms becoming M&A targets or acquirers. While CSR tone has a limited effect on M&A likelihood, positive net sentiment enhances investor reactions to M&A announcements, particularly for target firms. These results underscore the critical role of CSR disclosure quality in shaping strategic corporate decisions and market perceptions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107917"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613146","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reassessing herding in cryptocurrency markets","authors":"Christine Jeanneaux , Elise Alfieri , Radu Burlacu , Sonia Jimenez Garces","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107915","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107915","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study aims to evaluate the efficacy of existing models in detecting herding behaviors in cryptocurrency markets. The extant literature has employed various methods to assess the presence of herding behavior, mobilizing variables such as the cross-sectional dispersion of returns and the cross-sectional dispersion of assets' sensitivities to the market (beta herding). However, these detection models may not exclusively detect herding behaviors. They may also identify rational reactions to the arrival of new information or changes in investors' risk-aversion. To test this proposition, we incorporate factors accounting for new information arrival and time-varying investors' risk-aversion in classical herding models. Our results do not provide support for the presence of herding behaviors in cryptocurrency markets; rather, they underscore the significant impact of informational and risk aversion factors in explaining the cross-sectional deviation of returns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107915"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Anti-monopoly law, corporate innovation, and labor income share","authors":"Jie Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107895","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107895","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2003 to 2023, this paper systematically investigates the impact mechanism of antitrust policies on firms' labor income share within a quasi-natural experimental framework centered on the implementation of the Anti-Monopoly Law. The findings are as follows: First, antitrust enforcement promotes the redistribution of profits toward labor factors by weakening corporate monopoly power. Second, the Anti-Monopoly Law indirectly elevates the labor income share by suppressing monopoly profits and reducing corporate innovation investments. Finally, significant ownership disparities exist in policy effects, with the law exhibiting a more pronounced role in enhancing the labor income share of state-owned enterprises.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107895"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Loss of pricing power for data factors, financial mismatches, and corporate innovation: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment","authors":"Ying Du, Jing Tong","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107900","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107900","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study is based on enterprise panel data from 2014 to 2023 and systematically explores the dynamic relationship between the lack of pricing power for data factors, financial mismatch, and corporate innovation. Through the construction of multidimensional econometric models, the research finds that the absence of pricing power for data factors suppresses corporate innovation; financial mismatch hinders corporate innovation; and the policies of digital economy demonstration zones mitigate the negative impacts of the lack of pricing power and financial mismatch.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107900"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Steering through uncertainty: How organizational culture shapes earnings management","authors":"Annamaria Zampella, Luca Ferri","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107901","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107901","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study aims to assess the role of banking’s organisational culture on the use of discretionary loan loss provisions (DLLPs), with a specific focus on understanding how cultural dimensions influence accounting practices. Regression models were estimated by leveraging a balanced panel data of 200 listed European banks for the period 2012–2023. The findings reveal that banks characterised by Create-dominant and Compete-dominant cultures engage in more earnings management practices than Control and Collaborate cultures. However, the introduction of Expected Credit Loss (ECL) narrows the gap in earnings management practices between banks with Control and Collaborate-dominant organisational cultures and those with Create and Compete-dominant organisational cultures. The findings will be of interest to practitioners who assess the quality of financial reporting within the banking sector.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107901"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144605642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"U.S. interbank risk spillover network: Temporal dynamics and external shocks","authors":"Yue He , Miaomiao Tao , Xiaohang Ren","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107910","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107910","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study develops an interbank risk spillover framework using a dynamic Bayesian network and wavelet local multiple correlation to analyze the relationship between spillover risk, geopolitical risk, and economic policy uncertainty. We demonstrate that risk spillovers tend to cluster regionally and shift in response to market conditions. During 2019–2021, spillover risk surged, reflecting the pandemic’s disruptions. Strong correlations persist over time, while short-term market sensitivity to economic policy and geopolitical events increases. These findings underscore the need for stricter oversight of regional banking networks, tighter capital and liquidity rules for key banks, and more effective expectation management during periods of uncertainty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107910"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613122","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Are all robo-advisors the same? Out-group homogeneity bias in investors’ perceptions of robo-advisors","authors":"Yunshil Cha, Fangjun Xiao","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107908","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107908","url":null,"abstract":"Robo-advisors are becoming increasingly prevalent in financial markets, raising important questions about how investors perceive them. Using an experiment, we study whether and why investors generalize a single robo-advisor’s performance more than that of a human financial advisor. Drawing on social categorization theory, we predict and find that investors perceive robo-advisors as more homogeneous than human financial advisors. This “all robo-advisors are the same” perception leads to greater transference of both success and failure across robo-advisors compared to human advisors. These findings highlight algorithmic transference in investor decision-making and carry important implications for investors and firms offering robo-advisory services.","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"23 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":10.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Firm perceptions of population aging and cross-regional investment decisions: Evidence from China","authors":"Yaorui Chen , Hua Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107911","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107911","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the rapid pace of population aging and its strategic implications, this study investigates how firms’ subjective perceptions of demographic change influence cross-regional investment decisions. The empirical findings show that stronger perceptions of population aging significantly increase the likelihood of cross-regional investment. This relationship remains robust across instrumental variable estimation and alternative model specifications. Mechanism analysis suggests that rising labor costs and declining labor efficiency serve as key transmission channels. By linking firm-level investment behavior with demographic shifts, this study contributes to the strategic management literature.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107911"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144623753","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The impact of digital finance on protection of marine cultural heritage","authors":"Yongjia Xia , Yiming Zhang , Ruiqi Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107893","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107893","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Marine cultural heritage constitutes a vital component of the world’s cultural legacy. Digital inclusive finance offers new opportunities and pathways for its preservation. This study investigates the mechanisms through which digital inclusive finance influences the protection of marine cultural heritage, using panel data from 11 coastal provinces in China spanning the period from 2014 to 2022. The empirical findings reveal that the development of digital inclusive finance significantly enhances the protection of marine cultural heritage in coastal regions. Furthermore, the mechanisms of R&D investment and cultural industry development are found to be significant: digital inclusive finance promotes heritage protection by increasing regional R&D investment and fostering the growth of local cultural industries. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the positive impact of digital inclusive finance is more pronounced in southern coastal areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107893"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144632233","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Darius Fatemi, Jang-Chul Kim, Sharif Mazumder, Qing Su
{"title":"Tariffs: Their implications for stock liquidity","authors":"Darius Fatemi, Jang-Chul Kim, Sharif Mazumder, Qing Su","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107907","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.107907","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the impact of U.S. tariff announcements on stock liquidity in early 2025. Using firm-level data, liquidity deteriorates significantly following key announcements, particularly the April 2 reciprocal tariff plan. Spreads widen and market depth declines, indicating higher trading costs and thinner order books. These effects are consistent across model specifications and industries, with sharper depth reductions in necessity-related sectors. Analysis of 17 key event dates reveals asymmetric market responses, shaped by the perceived economic implications of each announcement. While tariffs were expected under the new administration’s policy stance, markets reacted to the unexpectedly simple and broad application of reciprocal rates. Our findings highlight how specific policy design elements, not just direction, can trigger short-term trading frictions under geopolitical uncertainty.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"85 ","pages":"Article 107907"},"PeriodicalIF":7.4,"publicationDate":"2025-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144587523","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}