Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Importance of Company Focus When Personalizing Investor Communication

42 Pages Posted: 13 Mar 2013 Last revised: 25 Apr 2018

See all articles by Paul Black

Paul Black

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Kevin E. Jackson

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Accountancy

Stephen P. Rowe

University of Arkansas

Aaron F. Zimbelman

University of South Carolina - Department of Accounting

Date Written: April 2018

Abstract

Technology has made direct personal communication between companies and individual investors feasible. While advertisers and others have used personalization to make their messages more impactful, little is known about the potential impact of personalization on investor judgment. We study the impact of personalized communication on investor judgment. We find that personalized communication is most effective when sent by a company that has demonstrated a longer-term focus. When prospective investors receive personalized communication, they are more likely to recognize the relative focus of the sending company and to find a company with greater investment in long-term prospects more attractive. In other words, personalized communication impacts the way prospective investors interpret financial information, to the benefit of firms with a longer-term focus.

Keywords: investor communication, personalized communication, social media

Suggested Citation

Black, Paul and Jackson, Kevin and Rowe, Stephen P. and Zimbelman, Aaron F., Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The Importance of Company Focus When Personalizing Investor Communication (April 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2232854 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2232854

Paul Black

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Kevin Jackson (Contact Author)

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign - Department of Accountancy ( email )

1206 South Sixth Street
Champaign, IL 61820
United States

Stephen P. Rowe

University of Arkansas ( email )

Business Bldg. 450
Fayetteville, AR 72701
United States

Aaron F. Zimbelman

University of South Carolina - Department of Accounting ( email )

Darla Moore School of Business
1014 Greene Street
Columbia, SC 29208
United States

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