TY - JOUR
T1 - When the investors speak
T2 - intellectual capital disclosure and the Web 2.0
AU - Massaro, Maurizio
AU - Dumay, John
AU - Bagnoli, Carlo
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate intellectual capital (IC) discussions held between investors using Web 2.0 tools. More precisely, this paper investigates the determinants of IC disclosures (ICDs) on internet stock message boards (IMBs). Design/methodology/approach: Four hypotheses were developed and tested through content analysis of 60,996 messages posted on two main IMBs, Yahoo!Finance and TheLion.com, followed by descriptive statistics and logistic regression testing. Findings: The findings show that Web 2.0 is bringing new opportunities to disclose IC. Traditional theories, such as agency, stakeholder, signalling, and legitimacy theory, cannot be applied to the Web 2.0 context. Therefore, a new approach that focusses more on the personal motivations for disclosing IC is called for. At a glance, the results show that IC is disclosed on IMBs, and several elements influence both the quantity and quality of those disclosures. Sometimes “trolls” disturb the dialogue and discourage participation by other investors. Conversely, online influencers facilitate ICD. To filter messages, the time of posting, the length of the messages, and the sentiment the messages contain should be considered along with the author of the message. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating the IC disclosed on IMBs. The findings provide insights about how ICDs are developed using Web 2.0 tools.
AB - Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate intellectual capital (IC) discussions held between investors using Web 2.0 tools. More precisely, this paper investigates the determinants of IC disclosures (ICDs) on internet stock message boards (IMBs). Design/methodology/approach: Four hypotheses were developed and tested through content analysis of 60,996 messages posted on two main IMBs, Yahoo!Finance and TheLion.com, followed by descriptive statistics and logistic regression testing. Findings: The findings show that Web 2.0 is bringing new opportunities to disclose IC. Traditional theories, such as agency, stakeholder, signalling, and legitimacy theory, cannot be applied to the Web 2.0 context. Therefore, a new approach that focusses more on the personal motivations for disclosing IC is called for. At a glance, the results show that IC is disclosed on IMBs, and several elements influence both the quantity and quality of those disclosures. Sometimes “trolls” disturb the dialogue and discourage participation by other investors. Conversely, online influencers facilitate ICD. To filter messages, the time of posting, the length of the messages, and the sentiment the messages contain should be considered along with the author of the message. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the existing literature by investigating the IC disclosed on IMBs. The findings provide insights about how ICDs are developed using Web 2.0 tools.
KW - Disclosure
KW - Intellectual capital
KW - Web 2.0
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85032204649&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1108/MD-10-2016-0699
DO - 10.1108/MD-10-2016-0699
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85032204649
SN - 0025-1747
VL - 55
SP - 1888
EP - 1904
JO - Management Decision
JF - Management Decision
IS - 9
ER -