Owner Exposure through Firm Disclosure

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Muller, Maximilian A.; Peter, Caspar David; Urzua, I. Francisco
• 署名单位: University of Cologne; Erasmus University Rotterdam; Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; City St Georges, University of London
• 刊物名称: ACCOUNTING REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0001-4826
• DOI: 10.2308/TAR-2020-0270
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 381-405
• 关键词: social norms; CORPORATE DISCLOSURE; reporting regulation; ECONOMICS; INFORMATION; privacy; CHOICE; MARKET; cost; RISK

摘要

We study whether firms avoid financial disclosures to preserve their owners' financial privacy. We find that firms named after their owner, for whom firm disclosure would more directly expose owner information, are more opaque. Eponymous owners prefer firm opacity when disclosure exposes sensitive owner information with social stigma, in rural and anticapitalist areas, and in insider-oriented settings with high secrecy and distrust. When firms are forced to disclose, eponymous owners more frequently change their firms' names, and new firms are less frequently named after their founding owners. These findings indicate that owner-level privacy concerns dampen firm-level disclosure incentives.