Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China
The digital transformation of communication media has been widely adopted and has reshaped institutional investor interactions. We examine how the linguistic concreteness of investors’ questions adapts to online media and face-to-face communication, using textual analysis of investor–company Q&A...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | China Journal of Accounting Research |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000188 |
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| _version_ | 1849240669101490176 |
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| author | Songlian Tang Jiangnan Geng |
| author_facet | Songlian Tang Jiangnan Geng |
| author_sort | Songlian Tang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The digital transformation of communication media has been widely adopted and has reshaped institutional investor interactions. We examine how the linguistic concreteness of investors’ questions adapts to online media and face-to-face communication, using textual analysis of investor–company Q&A transcripts from Chinese listed firms. We find that online media environments induce investors to enhance linguistic precision, to compensate for reduced nonverbal cues and social presence. This mechanism is moderated by sender characteristics, message attributes and response concreteness patterns. Such adjustments counteract media-induced information loss, evidenced by improved analyst forecast accuracy. Our study represents a practical application of Lasswell’s “5W” communication model in the context of corporate information disclosure and expands research on the impact of digital technology on communication media, offering insights into the balance between sender intent and media characteristics. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d8cac34d998a4e2891ab3eaa990ed71c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1755-3091 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | China Journal of Accounting Research |
| spelling | doaj-art-d8cac34d998a4e2891ab3eaa990ed71c2025-08-20T04:00:28ZengElsevierChina Journal of Accounting Research1755-30912025-09-0118310042210.1016/j.cjar.2025.100422Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in ChinaSonglian Tang0Jiangnan Geng1Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, 1882 West Yan’an Road, Shanghai 200051, ChinaCorresponding author.; Glorious Sun School of Business and Management, Donghua University, 1882 West Yan’an Road, Shanghai 200051, ChinaThe digital transformation of communication media has been widely adopted and has reshaped institutional investor interactions. We examine how the linguistic concreteness of investors’ questions adapts to online media and face-to-face communication, using textual analysis of investor–company Q&A transcripts from Chinese listed firms. We find that online media environments induce investors to enhance linguistic precision, to compensate for reduced nonverbal cues and social presence. This mechanism is moderated by sender characteristics, message attributes and response concreteness patterns. Such adjustments counteract media-induced information loss, evidenced by improved analyst forecast accuracy. Our study represents a practical application of Lasswell’s “5W” communication model in the context of corporate information disclosure and expands research on the impact of digital technology on communication media, offering insights into the balance between sender intent and media characteristics.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000188Institutional investor visitsOnline communicationLinguistic concretenessAnalyst forecasts |
| spellingShingle | Songlian Tang Jiangnan Geng Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China China Journal of Accounting Research Institutional investor visits Online communication Linguistic concreteness Analyst forecasts |
| title | Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China |
| title_full | Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China |
| title_fullStr | Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China |
| title_short | Communication media and linguistic concreteness: evidence from firm site visits in China |
| title_sort | communication media and linguistic concreteness evidence from firm site visits in china |
| topic | Institutional investor visits Online communication Linguistic concreteness Analyst forecasts |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1755309125000188 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT songliantang communicationmediaandlinguisticconcretenessevidencefromfirmsitevisitsinchina AT jiangnangeng communicationmediaandlinguisticconcretenessevidencefromfirmsitevisitsinchina |