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The Textual Tone of Annual Reports and Market Attention: Evidence From Chinese Listed Companies

Yanyan Li

Managerial and Decision Economics2026https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.70100article
AJG 2ABDC B
Weight
0.50

What the paper says

ABSTRACT This study examines how the textual tone of annual reports shapes market attention and investigates the moderating effect of firm profitability, firm size, and Tobin's Q. Based on a comprehensive sample of Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2007 to 2022, we find that a positive tone in annual reports significantly increases market attention. Moreover, firm profit strengthens this relationship, whereas firm size and Tobin's Q weaken it. These results suggest that the credibility and effectiveness of a positive tone are enhanced when corroborated by strong financial performance. Our findings remain robust to alternative variable measurements, endogeneity tests, and multiple sample specifications. This research contributes to signaling theory and impression management literature by identifying a critical boundary condition for the efficacy of tonal strategies, with important implications for investors, regulators, and corporate disclosure practices.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.70100

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@article{yanyan2026,
  title        = {{The Textual Tone of Annual Reports and Market Attention: Evidence From Chinese Listed Companies}},
  author       = {Yanyan Li},
  journal      = {Managerial and Decision Economics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/mde.70100},
}

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The Textual Tone of Annual Reports and Market Attention: Evidence From Chinese Listed Companies

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.