تأثیر استراتژی کسب وکار و هوشیاری شرکت بر افشای ریسک: تحلیلی بر عدم اطمینان محیطی (مقاله علمی وزارت علوم)
درجه علمی: نشریه علمی (وزارت علوم)
آرشیو
چکیده
ریسک و ابهام به عنوان دو جنبه متمایز عدم اطمینان محیطی از مهم ترین عوامل مؤثر بر تصمیمات افشای یک شرکت هستند. در ادبیات نظری و پژوهشی به افشای ریسک به عنوان یکی از مهم ترین اجزای افشای تفسیری در گزارش های مالی شرکت ها و واکنش منطقی مدیران در پاسخ به عدم اطمینان توجه شده است؛ با وجود این، سازوکار تصمیمات افشای ریسک در شرایط ریسک و ابهام و با توجه به تعادل منافع و هزینه های نمایندگی موضوعی است که در ادبیات پژوهشی افشای ریسک بی پاسخ مانده است. این پژوهش رابطه بین افشای ریسک و عدم اطمینان محیطی در سطح شرکت را بر مبنای دو معیار استراتژی کسب وکار و هوشیاری شرکت بررسی می کند. فرضیه های پژوهش با استفاده از مدل رگرسیون چندگانه در قلمرو شرکت های پذیرفته شده در بورس اوراق بهادار تهران و در بازه زمانی 1395 تا 1400 آزمون شده اند. افشای ریسک با استفاده از تحلیل محتوای گزارش های مالی سالانه اندازه گیری شده است. یافته های پژوهش نشان می دهند شرکت هایی با استراتژی کاوشگرانه افشای ریسک بالاتری نسبت به شرکت های با استراتژی تدافعی به منظور کاهش عدم تقارن اطلاعاتی و مزایای نمایندگی آن ارائه می دهند. همچنین، شرکت های هوشیار، با پایش مستمر محیط فعالیت، ابهام در هر دوره را کاهش می دهند و به دلیل درک بالاتر نسبت به ریسک های در معرض افشای ریسک بیشتری را ارائه می کنند. یافته های پژوهش نشان می دهند رویکردهای استراتژیک شرکت با تأثیر بر سطح ریسک ها و ابهام های محیطی، فراتر از ویژگی های عملیاتی و رقابتی آنها بوده اند و بر تصمیمات افشای داوطلبانه ریسک اثرگذار هستند؛ درنتیجه، این پژوهش بر اهمیتِ گنجاندن ابعاد ریسک و ابهام محیطی در تفسیر و تجزیه و تحلیل افشای اطلاعات ریسک تأکید می کند.The Impact of Business Strategy and Firm Alertness on Risk Disclosure: An Analysis of Environmental Uncertainty
Risk and ambiguity, distinctive facets of environmental uncertainty, significantly influence a firm's disclosure decisions. In theoretical and empirical literature, risk disclosure emerges as a pivotal facet of interpretive disclosures within corporate financial reports, representing a rational response to uncertainty. Nonetheless, the mechanism guiding risk disclosure determinations amidst conditions of risk and uncertainty, while considering the equilibrium between agency advantages and costs, remains a gap within risk disclosure literature. This study investigates the nexus between risk disclosure and uncertainty at the corporate level, hinging upon business strategy and alertness criteria. Employing a multiple regression model, the research examines these hypotheses within firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the 2016-2021 period. The risk disclosure was assessed through content analysis of annual financial reports. The results demonstrate that firms pursuing the prospector-oriented strategy provide more risk disclosure than defender-oriented firms, aiming to mitigate information asymmetry and its agency benefits. Moreover, the findings illustrate that alert firms, through continual environmental scanning, diminish ambiguity cyclically, enhancing their comprehension of exposed risks and consequentially augmenting risk disclosure. In essence, this research underscores that a firm's strategic stance encompasses implications beyond operational and competitive domains, permeating financial reporting and risk disclosure determinations. Consequently, this study underscores the criticality of incorporating risk dimensions and environmental ambiguity into the interpretation and scrutiny of disclosure of risk related information.Introduction The decision-making process of firms regarding the disclosure of risk-related information has become a recent and contentious topic in corporate disclosure literature, drawing attention from researchers, legislators, and financial statement users (Elshandidy et al., 2018 b). In the theoretical and empirical literature, risk disclosure is viewed as a logical reaction by managers to uncertainties and risks, particularly in uncertain environments where the intention is to alleviate information asymmetry (Chiu et al., 2018; Li et al., 2019). Additionally, it is seen as a signal of risk management on behalf of stakeholders (Haj-Salem & Hussainey, 2021).Nonetheless, economic theories dissect environmental uncertainty into two distinct elements: risk and ambiguity (Hsieh et al., 2019). These theories suggest that how managers' report and make disclosure choices differs when facing uncertainty and risk (Ilut & Schneider, 2022). The literature on information processing and proprietary costs theory reveals that an increase in risk disclosure can lead to negative responses from ambiguity-averse investors, causing significant volatility in stock prices (Kravet & Muslu, 2013; Rava, 2022). Consequently, the costs associated with risk disclosure might outweigh its agency benefits, potentially leading to reduced motivation among managers to disclose such information. This prompts the question: given the diverse reactions of investors to risk disclosure within varying conditions of environmental uncertainty encompassing risk and ambiguity, and considering the equilibrium between the costs and advantages of risk disclosure, how might firms approach risk disclosure across different dimensions of environmental uncertainty?To address this inquiry, this study delves into the correlation between risk disclosure and environmental uncertainty among firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. To achieve this, two distinct criteria are utilized to gauge the firm-specific level of uncertainty. The first criterion, grounded in the firm's business strategies, encompasses prospective and defensive strategies. These strategies are evaluated using Bentley et al.'s (2013) scoring approach, positing that firms adopting exploratory strategies actively pursue novel business opportunities, potentially confronting higher uncertainty (Bentley et al., 2013). The second criterion hinges on management's perception of environmental uncertainty. Firms are categorized as alert or inert based on their continuous environmental scanning. Alert firms, through consistent environmental scanning, are better poised to identify potential concerns (Hsieh et al., 2019). In this context, the distinction between uncertainty and risk becomes relevant; ambiguous circumstances transform into risk. It is hypothesized that alert firms would face lower ambiguity levels compared to inert firms. Consequently, when considering business strategy and a firm's attentiveness to environmental uncertainty as risk attributes, the research's primary goal is to scrutinize the interplay between business strategies, alertness levels, and firms' risk disclosure.To achieve the research's objectives, two hypotheses are formulated and assessed: (1) the presence of a significant correlation between business strategy and risk disclosure, and (2) the presence of a significant correlation between firm alertness and risk disclosure MethodologyThis study aims to investigate the relationship between business strategy, corporate alertness, and risk disclosure within firms listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange during the period from 2016 to 2021. The research hypotheses are empirically examined using a sample encompassing 888 firm-years and applying the generalized least squares regression estimation technique. To conduct the analysis, essential data has been sourced from the financial statements, explanatory notes, the management discussion and analysis, and the directors’ reports.The first research hypothesis is tested using equation (1).Equation (1) (The dependent variable) is the level of risk disclosure. Risk-related information data have been gathered and organized through the application of content analysis and the coding of disclosed risks found in the explanatory notes, the management discussion and analysis, and the directors’ reports. Subsequently, the quantification of the risk disclosure variable has been accomplished by counting the disclosed risk information. (The independent variable) is the business strategy of the firm, assessed through the combined score criterion developed by Bentley et al. )2013). Initially, this variable is integrated into the research model in its original raw score form for each firm-year. Subsequently, in a subsequent step aimed at a more comprehensive analysis, this variable is transformed into a binary variable based on the acquired score. This binary variable is then introduced into the model for further examination and interpretation. This methodology involves assigning specific values to firms based on their yearly business strategies. Specifically, a prospector-oriented strategy (scoring between 19 and 30) is assigned a value of one, while a defender-oriented strategy (scoring between 6 and 18) is assigned a value of zero for each firm-year. The coefficient will serve to elucidate the relationship between risk disclosure and the business strategy. In the regression model, control variables with established effects on risk disclosure, as indicated by previous research, are included. These variables encompass firm size ( ), financial leverage ( ), return on assets ( ), beta coefficient ( ), standard deviation of stock returns ( ), instances of firm losses ( ), industry-specific effects ( ), and year-specific effects ( ). The second research hypothesis postulates a significant correlation between alertness as an aspect of firm uncertainty and risk disclosure. This hypothesis is assessed through the examination of regression equation (2). Equation (2) (The dependent variable) is the level of risk disclosure. The variable (The independent variable) represents the measure of firm alertness during period . In this study, the combined criterion developed by Hsieh et al. (2019) is employed to identify alert firms, based on the observation of abnormal cuts in three indicators: (1) the number of employees, (2) capital expenditures, and (3) discretionary expenditures (Hsieh et al., 2019). To identify the alert firms, a binary variable is introduced. that equals one if the firm ever takes three abnormal cuts in three indicators in the same year, and zero otherwise. That is, once a firm is identified as having taken the above abnormal cuts, all years associated with that firm within our sample receive the corresponding label. The coefficient will elucidate the relation between risk disclosure and alertness. The control variables for equation (2) are akin to those in equation (1). Findings There is a significant positive relationship between the business strategy and the risk disclosure. Moreover, firms adopting a perspective-oriented strategy provide a greater extent of risk disclosure compared to those following a defender-oriented strategy. Similarly, firms that continually scan their environment, referred to as alert firms, exhibit higher levels of disclosure in comparison to inert firms.Conclusion & Result This study delves into the manner of risk disclosure within the context of uncertainty dimensions, encompassing both risk and ambiguity, at the firm’s level. It investigates this phenomenon through the lens of the firm's business strategy and its alertness. The results show that firms adopting prospective strategies face higher levels of uncertainty and risk, leading them to provide a greater risk disclosure compared to firms with a defensive strategy. This result is in line with both agency theory and signaling theory, and it is consistent with previous research findings (Elshandidy et al., 2018 a, Bentley-Goode et al., 2019, Weber & Mubig, 2022; Mousavi et al., 2023, Barzegar et al., 2019). This finding demonstrates that when firms embrace an acquisition strategy that exposes them to risks and uncertainties, they become more inclined to proactively disclose information, thereby mitigating information asymmetry and lowering agency costs. In such scenarios, despite potential drawbacks of risk disclosure, such as heightened risk perception among shareholders and divulgence of private information to potential competitors (Hope et al., 2016), research results reveal that the benefits of risk information disclosure surpass its associated costs. This holds, particularly for firms adopting a prospective strategy heavily reliant on external financing, as not revealing enough risk information could be construed by the market as poor risk management. The results of the second hypothesis test in this research, examining the relation between firm alertness and risk disclosure, reveal that alert firms reveal greater risk disclosure compared to inert firms. This finding underscores that alert firms, with their ongoing environmental scanning practices, possess a heightened likelihood of identifying potential risks and encountering lower ambiguity than other ones. Consequently, in line with information processing theory, the reduction of ambiguity and the identification of more exposed risks lead to an escalation in the extent of information disclosure by firms. This finding aligns harmoniously with the research findings of Hsieh et al. (2019), Hejranijamil et al. (2020), and Rava (2022). It accentuates the significance of encompassing various uncertainty dimensions, including ambiguity and risk, when scrutinizing voluntary risk disclosure. Finally, the findings of this study underscore that a firm's strategic approach and orientation exert ramifications beyond operational and competitive realms, extending into the behavior and decision-making processes of firms concerning the reporting and dissemination of risk-related information (as outlined by Lim et al., 2018).
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