Published and Working Papers

Guangyu's research agenda is motivated by the aspiration to forge an intellectual link between practitioners and accounting researchers. This synergy not only fosters mutual enlightenment but also aims to inform regulators, policymakers, and influence the future curricula of accounting education. 

Currently, Guangyu's primary focus centers on the demand side of accounting information, such as sell-side analysts and institutional investors, as well as the supply side of such information, including financial accountants and investor relations officers.

Published and working papers:

1. Li, G., Spence, C. & Chen, Z. (2024). Sell-Side Analysts as Social Intermediaries. Contemporary Accounting Research, doi: 10.1111/1911-3846.12968

2. Gender Differences in Sell-side Analysts’ Corporate Site Visits. with Crawford Spence and Zhong Chen

Abstract: This study examines whether and how sell-side analysts' social interactions with company management vary by their gender. Using a unique dataset of corporate site visits, we find that female analysts visit fewer listed firms than their male counterparts but visit firms more frequently. For firms that they visit, female analysts are more likely to engage in joint site visits with institutional investors, whereas male analysts focus on analyst-only visits. Additionally, site visits involving female analysts elicit weaker abnormal returns, suggesting potential exclusion against female analysts in significant visits. We identify two mechanisms behind these differences: resource imbalances in male-dominated brokerage houses and gender homophily in financial networks. Our findings contribute to literature on gender issues in capital markets and burgeoning research on the significance of social interactions within the market for information ecosystem.

3. Challenges to Authority and Position: Sell-side Analysts on WeChat. with Crawford Spence and Zhong Chen

Abstract: Adopting a field perspective on the market for information, this study investigates how social media alters the field that analysts operate in and reshapes the way that analysts interact with institutional investors. We show how the increasing usage of WeChat in China as an investor communication channel has a paradoxical effect: sell-side analysts now enjoy heightened accessibility to stakeholders but grapple with diminishing visibility in a saturated digital space. This challenges their authority and status overall in the market for information. In response to the massive influx of requests from investors through WeChat, analysts adopt a stand-by strategy, which can influence the quality of their research outputs. Finally, we present evidence of how sell-side analysts adjust their work practices in an evolving virtual landscape. Our study contributes to disclosure literature by showing how increased social media adoption can be a double-edged sword that prompts key actors to scramble for position in the market for information.