Sustainability reporting is something that has gained much ground lately, and there is no sign of it decreasing. The purpose of a sustainability report is to disclose the non-financial information between a company and its stakeholders. To present a sustainability report is mandatory for larger companies, many smaller companies do also provide its stakeholder with one voluntarily. In the last decade there has been a steadily increasing trend when it comes to being environmentally friendly. More companies need to take responsibility for their actions in the world, in order for it to sustain and last longer. There have been some scandals throughout the years when it comes to sustainability reporting which has made a negative impact on the reliability of the reports. Previous research and literature have shown that there are a lot of uncertainties when it comes to what exactly transparency means and how it can be interpreted from different perspectives and situations. The purpose with this study is to collect information and analyze the interpret transparency of a sustainability report from an investors perspective. The information collected can then be addressed to answer the research question “How is the transparency in a sustainability report perceived by an investor?.” The thesis is using a qualitative methodology consisting of semi-structured interviews and has an inductive research approach. The theories connected to the conceptual framework in this thesis is signaling theory and legitimacy theory. The semi-structured interview was made with people who own stocks in a company that presents a sustainability report, also called investors. Twelve investors were interviewed and provided good information to create a comprehensive answer for the research question. The result of this study shows that the investors do not think a sustainability report is transparent enough. They believe that companies do not show the whole truth in a sustainability report. The information is not fully complete, one hundred percent truthful, as objective as it can be/not angled, and the information is used in other purposes rather than just disclose non-financial information. These answers do not match up with a general definition of transparency which then means that a sustainability report is not interpreted as transparent by the investors participating in this particular study. The investors do also believe that one general definition of transparency or area specific definition would be better. They do also advocate for more external interference of the reports.

Historical research on initial public offerings (IPOs) presents strong evidence of underpricing. This study investigates if there is a relationship between underpricing of IPOs and pre-IPO research and development (R&D) activities within a company. According to the literature, R&D activities have characteristics of information asymmetry and uncertainty, which can increase underpricing. This study’s sample consists of 231 Swedish companies listed on Nasdaq Stockholm and Nasdaq First North between January 2010 and December 2020. Sweden has a strong association with innovation activities such as R&D, and the country’s IPO market has snowballed in recent years, making it a suitable context for the study. To investigate the relationship between underpricing and R&D activities, the study uses an OLS regression. The findings indicate that R&D positively affects underpricing, which is in line with previous studies on other markets. In addition, the study finds evidence of Firm Size, Offer Size, Shares Offered, VCPE backed, and Firm Leverage related to underpricing.

<p>This dissertation examines the implications of digitization for firm corporate strategy and organizational governance. I aim to link together emerging research on platform businesses and classic corporate strategy research on firm scale, scope and organization, two important streams of work that have remained largely independent despite the close connection between them. To do so, my dissertation revolves around the following central question: How can platform owners leverage governance mechanisms to alleviate market frictions, and what are the performance outcomes? </p><p><br></p> <p>In the first chapter, using game-theoretic formal models, I analyze how long standing information frictions are alleviated by digital platforms through developing capabilities for solving these information problems and exploiting synergies between those capabilities. In the second chapter, using data from online peer-to-peer lending, I show that platform owners can mitigate problems of information asymmetry in platform markets and enhance market effectiveness through allocation of key decision rights among participants. Finally, in the third chapter, using data from mobile apps, I show that platform gatekeeping serves as a screening mechanism for platform owners and how it can shape the different ways app developers profit from innovation. </p><p><br></p><p>Collectively, my dissertation aims to advance corporate strategy research in two ways. First, my research broadens the application of theories of organizational governance core to corporate strategy to a new organizational form – platforms – and I show that core tenets of the theories still apply, although the specific empirical mechanisms might take a different form in the platform context (e.g., decision rights allocated between the platform owner and complementors, rather than between the corporate office and business units). Second, my research stands to expand existing theories in corporate strategy through a sharp focus on organization and governance features that are unique to platforms – such as by studying the orchestrating role of the platform owner (e.g., through gatekeeping, platform owner can control complementors' platform access and shape their value-creation activities on the platform), and the multi-layer relationships prevalent in platforms (e.g., relationships between the platform owner and complementors, between complementors on the same side, and between complementors across two or more sides).</p>

This paper explores the stock market as a source of funding for innovation by looking at the ability of the stock market to attract, identify and channel funds to innovative firms. We analysed 541 IPOs on the Swedish stock market between the years 2000-2015, using patent applications as a proxy for innovation. Results from an event study and regressions using two control groups show that firms find the stock market an attractive source of funding for innovation and that going public helps firms overcome liquidity restraints. By looking at the long- and short-term performance, measured by stock prices, of innovative firms by conducting OLS regressions, our results suggest; one, that there is an initial demand for innovative companies undergoing an IPO in comparison to non-innovative firms. And two, that investors are able to predict future innovativeness to some extent, but that they have some difficulties in anticipating future performance of innovative firms.

Insider trading and earnings management (EM) have traditionally been associated with fraud and corporate scandals. Corporations involved in fraudulent financial reporting or earnings manipulations were assumed to have used insider trading patterns to manipulate earnings, thereby concealing information from investors. The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to examine the association between insider trading patterns and EM citations among a randomly selected sample of publicly traded companies. The research question pertained to the association between the number of EM citations and whether a firm exhibited patterns of insider trading among publicly traded firms. The theoretical framework was based on accounting, auditing and financial theories. Archival data were collected in the form of financial statements from annual reports of 77 companies submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission. A multiple linear regression was used to answer the research question to determine whether there was an association between insider trading patterns and EM. Results of descriptive statistics and regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for the firm size, a significant association existed between the number of EM citations and patterns of insider trading in the sample of publicly traded firms. A positive relationship, wherein firms with patterns of insider trading had more EM citations as indicated from the regression results. These findings may encourage investors, regulators, auditors, the public, and other interested parties to work with researchers to foster confidence in financial markets and the accounting profession, and to redeem the mistakes made by companies in the past.

This study examines board meetings’ role in reducing the information gap between managers and independent directors. Using abnormal returns to insider trades as a proxy for insiders’ information level, I find no association between board meetings and the manager-director information gap for the pre-2003 period. However, in the post-2003 period, board meetings significantly increase directors’ information level relative to that of managers. I next identify that board meetings’ informational role is driven by the 2003 NASDAQ and NYSE board independence requirements. Further analyses support a causal link between board meetings and the smaller manager-director information gap post-2003. Furthermore, board meetings’ information role is more pronounced for directors who are relatively new to the firm, diverse directors, directors with outside connections, and directors sitting on certain committees. Lastly, using a subsample of firms that voluntarily disclose disaggregated information on board meetings, I find that the form of board meetings also matters: in-person board meetings reduce the manager-director information gap, while remote board meetings do not. Overall, board meetings’ informational efficacy depends on mandatory board independence, independent directors’ characteristics, and board meetings’ organizational forms.

This thesis is situated in the research field of electronic commerce, specifically the aspect of fast fashion brands. This has drawn consumer interest because they find struggles when shopping for clothes online due to their inability to try the product before purchasing from sellers, which tends to result in information asymmetry. Therefore, they may be more hesitant to purchase online due to the perceived risk that results in low level of trust while shopping clothes online; therefore, businesses should strive to alleviate their concerns. Previous research has shown that electronic word of mouth (e-WOM) can guide and increase confidence.  The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how consumers perceive online reviews as ways of reducing information asymmetry and reduce risk in order to ensure that they will be satisfied with their purchase. Furthermore, many factors identified in previous research that could influence the use of online reviews were identified and analyzed in the context of fast fashion for this study. Therefore, the study discovered several factors that influenced the use of online reviews.  This study investigates the role of trust as a mediator between customers' perception of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and their subsequent actions. Specifically, the study focuses on the influence of the perceived usefulness of online reviews on customer trust in fast fashion websites. To gain a comprehensive understanding of consumers' opinions on online reviews, a qualitative research approach employing semi-structured interviews was conducted. The interviews provided participants with the opportunity to elaborate on their responses and provide nuanced insights. The findings indicate that fast fashion brands should prioritize the inclusion of online reviews and enhance their mechanisms based on the factors identified in this study. By recognizing the importance of customer trust and addressing the perceived usefulness of online reviews, fast fashion brands can improve their relationship with customers and foster positive consumer actions. This study contributes to the existing literature on eWOM, trust, and online reviews, offering practical implications for fast fashion brands aiming to optimize their online platforms.

ABSTRACT Demographic forces in the U.S. economy can be expected to have a significant impact on the behavior of small business owners, particularly as it relates to their ownership transitions and exiting from their privately held firms (the development of “harvest” strategies). The ability of business owners to identify entity value and communicate this to the market (market signaling) could be a key determinant in maximizing sellers’ payouts at the dispositions of their businesses. Historically, payouts have been maximized through transactions with strategic buyers, who have pre-existing knowledge of the seller’s industry or market thereby permitting rapid value accretion for buyers. However, a current unprecedented level of capital available in the private equity market has created a sea of financial buyers who, despite having available capital, may not have the industry or firm specific knowledge which permits the rapid value accretion in an acquisition as it would a strategic buyer. In turn, seller payouts may be suppressed because of selling to financial buyers. The primary focus of this paper is to explore how sellers view the differences between the two types of buyers and the implications for seller payouts. More broadly, it addresses the importance of market signaling and its impact on seller payouts. / Business Administration/Entrepreneurship

“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome”. Charlie Munger The use of adjusted earnings as a presentation alternative to GAAP earnings is intended to help financial statement users understand the underlying performance of a company. The approach is highly prevalent and growing in frequency and adjustment magnitude, as “by 2017, for example the average adjustment per firm was 26 cents per share or about 15% of average GAAP earnings per share” (Rouen, So, and Wang, 2020, p. 3). While some adjustments are standard adjustments for non-recuring items like accounting rule changes, or part of a set of consistently communicated recurring items, there is another group of adjustments that are infrequent, subject to considerable management latitude and often inconsistently categorized. Across the range of academic research on this phenomenon, there are questions regarding management motivation, communication clarity and persistence of these non-GAAP adjustments. There is a broader question regarding business decision rigor, and quality of earnings versus peers for those firms with a large adjusted to reported earnings difference. In Chapter 3, I assess the consequences of the use of Adjusted Earnings, by testing whether the size of the difference between reported and adjusted earnings is associated with a difference in performance against a set of key firm performance measures. The underlying hypothesis is that firms with a large adjusted-earnings differential have weaker underlying operational performance, compared to their peers and that ultimately the decisions and adjustment actions being taken (e.g., more acquisitions, business reorganizations or “one-offs”) that drive up the earnings adjustment subsequently erode performance. The study of a set of large New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) listed companies over a ten-year period (2011 through 2020) showed that firms with large adjusted-earnings differentials had statistically significant performance gaps versus peers that had smaller earnings adjustments on return on assets (ROA) and return on equity (ROE), both contemporaneously and prospectively. There were also performance differences in current year total shareholder return (TSR), although that was mostly a short-term phenomenon and did not hold for future TSR. The study results were particularly significant for the operational measure return on assets (ROA). The tests controlled for firm sector, size and leverage ratio. In Chapter 4, I examine whether CEO incentive compensation (total current year variable pay, variable pay as a percentage/fraction of total compensation, and unvested equity) is a possible cause of the expanded use of Adjusted Earnings practices, and associated with the size of the difference between adjusted and reported earnings. The hypothesis for this follow-on study was that CEO incentives are enhanced by a higher adjusted earnings number, given the typical structure of incentive plans and thus they could influence higher adjusted-earnings differentials. The literature is mixed on this topic as some studies like Black, Black, Christensen and Gee (2021) show no significant relationship between CEO pay and aggressive non-GAAP earnings reporting, while others show that large positive non-GAAP earnings adjustments predict abnormally high CEO Pay (Guest, Kothari and Pozen, 2017). Cohen, Dey and Lys (2008) found that unexercised options were positively associated with income-increasing accrual-based earnings management activities, but that activity is not necessarily impacting reported performance measures (p. i). This second study, found only partial statistical support for the hypothesis that current year variable compensation was associated with the Adjusted Earnings differential, but it was inconclusive. There was statistical significance for the tests of the variable compensation ratio and total unvested equity being related to future adjusted earnings differentials, but those findings were at a relatively low significance level. / Business Administration/International Business Administration

The relationship between a firm’s ESG performance and information asymmetry is a well-covered research area, however, few studies have been conducted on the markets covered by EU regulation and the NFRD. This thesis aims to fill the research gap by examining the relationship between ESG performance and information asymmetry in firms listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, to provide evidence from the EU’s regulatory landscape. The study uses both fixed effects and random effects models to examine the relationship and aims to clarify the effect following the implementation of NFRD in the EU. The results suggest a negative relationship between ESG performance and information asymmetry when employing bid-ask spread as a proxy for information asymmetry. Additionally, trading volume and volatility are examined as proxies for information asymmetry, yet these show no support for a negative relationship. Further, the effect of NFRD does not show consistent results, thus not substantiating any robust evidence across the proxies. However, when employing bid-ask spread as a proxy for information asymmetry the results show implications of a stronger relationship after the implementation of NFRD.