In Essay 1, I use cross-country differences in investors’ traits — trust, patience, overconfidence, and risk tolerance — to test the underreaction, overreaction, and uncertain information theories of stock returns. I find that investors’ reactions to large daily stock price shocks vary between lower and higher levels of these traits. Specifically, investors with lower levels of trust and more patience underreact more (or overreact less) to price shocks, which aligns with the predictions of the underreaction hypothesis. Investors with higher levels of overconfidence overreact more to positive price shocks and overreact less to negative price shocks. While this finding does not conform exactly to the predictions of the overreaction hypothesis, it is consistent with more refined theories of how overconfidence affects asset prices. Investors less tolerant of risk overreact less to positive price shocks. I also find that differences in institutional characteristics affect over/underreaction. Specifically, there is less overreaction in countries with stronger investor protections and less insider trading. Additionally, the ability to sell short is associated with more overreaction to negative shocks and less overreaction to positive shocks. In Essay 2, I investigate whether publicly available information (PAI) affects over/underreaction according to predictions of several theoretical models, and then I test if differences in investors’ traits modifies the association between publicly available information and returns. After identifying and correcting for a methodological issue in some prior research, I show that in a pooled international sample of stocks, investors overreact to price shocks not accompanied by information, and also overreact (or react efficiently in some models) to information-based price shocks. I find that the effect of PAI on returns is not the same in each country, which motivates my tests on how this variability relates to differences in investor traits. My results show that investors with higher trust tend to overreact less to shocks accompanied by PAI, while investors less tolerant of risk underreact to positive price shocks. Additionally, investors with higher overconfidence and self-attribution bias overreact more to positive price shocks, but less to negative price shocks, in accordance with behavioral theories. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This dissertation aims to develop a grounded theory explaining how Chinese stock investors construct risk through their communication practices. Many of the previous studies attribute the risk in the stock market to greedy or unprofessional investors who speculate in stocks. In order to explore this topic further, this dissertation applies a grounded theory approach to develop a detailed local case showing the communication practices of Shanghai investors with respect to stock investment. By examining how investors produce meanings of risk and the relevant risk positions, the dissertation explains why investors keep speculating in the stock market. It uses interviews with 35 investors, in-depth interviews with 12 investors, and on-site observations of four stock exchange halls, investors’ home and working places in Shanghai from 2012 to 2014. The findings show that the investors consider risk to be the uncertainties about the accuracy of the information and the speed by which it is obtained. Ideally, they would obtain public information, make sense of public information professionally, and then generate directional information on which they can base their stock trades. However, with the devaluation of public information due to the corrupt social system, investors are forced to communicate more accurate information in a private way to position themselves to have a privileged risk position, which produces certainties for them but uncertainty for others. The belief in professionalism is eroded through the surge in demand for insider information based on interpersonal relations (guanxi). Because of the lack of insurance and security when circulating information privately, investors have shifted away from long-term stock investments to speculate in stocks. Although the mechanism of stock speculation produces risk for almost all investors, they still produce and reproduce this mechanism. The reason for this is that these investors are trapped in a paradox of risk and security without realizing that their practices to produce security are in fact producing uncertainties for them. / 本論文研究上海的股票投資者是怎樣在傳播實踐中構建風險的意義的。很多研究將金融風險歸咎於投資者的貪婪或不專業的過度投機行為。為了進一步研究這一課題，本論文採取紮根理論的研究方法，構建一個詳實的關於上海投資者傳播實踐的案例。由此，本論文研究了當地投資者怎樣通過傳播實踐構建風險的意義以及不同的風險處境，並由此對投資者進行投機行為進行理論性的闡釋。本論文的數據收集時間為2012年至2014年，其中主要包括對4所上海的投資交易大廳的實地觀察，對35個投資者的訪談，以及12個深入訪談以及追踪觀察。研究發現，投資者將風險與對信息的正確性以及傳播速度的不確定性相關聯。理想狀態下，投資者通過獲取公共信息，專業解讀信息以將其轉化為導向性的信息，之後進行股票交易。然而，由於腐敗等問題，各類公共信息都產生了貶值，投資者被迫用更私人的方式傳播更準確的信息，以使自己能處於有利地位，並將對信息的確定性建立在其他投資者對信息的不確定性之上。專業主義被瓦解了，取而代之的是建立在人際關係之上的對內幕消息的傳播。投資者們也從專業的、長期的投資專為短期的投機。而那些處於不利地位的投資者所面臨的不確定性亦將反過來加諸於有利地位的投資者之上。儘管投機的體系將風險加諸於幾乎所有投資者之上，投資者仍繼續投機行為。本論文認為其原因是投資者被困於“風險矛盾”之中——投資者通過實踐來尋求保障，未曾意識到其實踐造成了自己乃至於經濟體系更大的風險。 / Mao, Zhifei. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 203-222). / Abstracts also in Chinese. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on 15, September, 2016). / Detailed summary in vernacular field only.

Using a multi-case study, three Ponzi schemes were investigated: Road2Gold, Bernie Madoff’s empire, and the Earl Jones affair. This grounded study used an inductive bottom-up methodology to observe and describe stakeholder mobilization in reaction to corporate fraud. This research on stakeholder behaviour in Ponzi schemes articulates new theory for describing stakeholder behaviour and possible determinants for successful mobilization to action. The data presented here point to a useful distinction in the stakeholders in a corporate fraud: reluctant and engaged stakeholders. Reluctant stakeholders seek only interest-based ends, whereas engaged stakeholders have additional identity and ideological goals shared by a mobilized group. / viii, 85 leaves : ill. ; 29 cm