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Corporate Web Pages as a Key Communication Channel for Financial Publics
oleh: Eyun-Jung Ki, Jee Young Chung
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | Insitute for Public Relations 2011-09-01 |
Deskripsi
This study was designed to examine the current status of corporate Web site usage for investor relations and to assess prevalent features of investor relations activities through an analysis of the Web sites of the largest companies in the U.S. While Web sites have emerged as important communication channels for implementing investor relations strategies, few previous studies have considered how the largest companies in the U.S. strategically communicate with their financial publics, how different types of industry utilize Web sites for investor relations functions, and at which stage of Web site development of investor relations the largest U.S. companies currently are. In this sense, this study is meaningful for understanding the current status in terms of the developmental stages of investor relations functions represented by these companies’ Web sites. Furthermore, this study offers insight into how companies should proceed in developing and improving their Web sites for their financial publics. A content analysis of the public Web site of every Fortune 500 company was examined to determine where it lie in the developmental stages, its usage of investor relations features, and the industry differences of its usage. Of the 500 companies analyzed in this study, more than 90 percent exhibited some contents for investor relations on their Web sites. This finding indicates that Fortune 500 companies are well on their way to establishing Web sites that highlight investor relations strategies, and most companies have also started to utilize their Web sites to communicate with financial publics. The most frequently used investor relations features among the Web sites reviewed were ‘SEC filings,’ ‘annual report,’ and ‘corporate governance.’ In terms of the developmental stage, the majority of companies had already entered the second stage of Web site development, which involves recycling traditionally paperbased documents, and moved into the last stage of development, represented by a company taking full advantage of the interactive features of new technology made available through the Web site format. This study compared investor relations features across industries in terms of the three established categories and the three developmental stages suggested by Hedlin (1999). This study found that companies that engage in investor relations activities through their Web sites do not differ in terms of industry type. In the U.S., providing financial information on corporate Web sites seems to be a standard feature of investor relations strategy across the various industry types. This study also found that the features of investor relations on corporate Web sites have a positive association with revenue and profits while the effect is small. As a byproduct, this study found that a company’s investor relations score and stock information is positively associated with the company’s revenue, though the magnitude of the impact was small for both. This finding indicates that Web sites of companies with more revenue demonstrate more features of investor relations overall and also provide more stock information.