The Effects of Blockholder Dispersion on the Informativeness of Earnings: Evidence from Korea

Abstract

This paper studies the relationship between blockholder dispersion and the informativeness of earnings using a sample of Korean companies. Investors prefer less volatile and more sustainable earnings and managers have incentives to manage earnings to meet investor demand. We show evidence that firms with dispersed ownership, which are likely to suffer from high levels of information asymmetry, smooth earnings in order to relieve investors' concerns regarding information asymmetry. Furthermore, our regression analyses on the relation between returns and future earnings reveal that earnings smoothing conducted by firms with dispersed ownership leads to higher informativeness of earnings. This study provides important implications for various financial statement users in interpreting firms' earnings sustainability, especially in the East Asian countries where a wide spectrum of ownership concentration structure exists.