Socially Situated Financial Markets: A Neo-Behavioral Perspective on Firms, Investors and Practices

Abstract

In this dissertation I seek to redirect the conversation on stock market evaluations from the more traditional economic and behavioral finance theories, by proposing a neo-behavioral perspective, which views financial markets as socially situated. Specifically I combine theoretical arguments from organization and sociological theories, as well as psychology and linguistics to explain stock market dynamics. I pursue specific research questions emerging from this framework and unpack the mechanisms by which social-psychological and institutional factors influence stock market evaluations of firms and their practices. In doing so, I advance and contribute to organizational theories on practice diffusion and organizational categories, and to strategy theories on corporate communication.
In my goal to contribute to our knowledge of stock markets, I have taken a phenomenon-based approach, by studying practices that are not commonly understood or studied by management scholars. In the first two studies I examine reverse mergers, a non-traditional way of going public. In my third study, I examine a rather extraordinary Dutch phenomenon -- a codified language scale that managers use to communicate corporate performance. By studying these curious business strategies, I aim to contribute to the existing body of empirical knowledge, beyond the typical theoretical contribution. Finally, my fourth study, which is a replication of a study published in a leading finance journal, lends support to the view that the body of knowledge that constitutes administrative sciences is socially constructed. As such, this study should thus be seen as part of recent efforts to broaden the role and scope for replication studies in finance and management research.