dc.contributor.author | Lee., Charles M.C. | |
dc.contributor.author | Ma, Paul | |
dc.contributor.author | Wang, Changyi Chang-Yi | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2015-07-16T13:31:42Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2015 | |
dc.identifier.citation | Lee, Charles M.C., Paul Ma, and Charles C.Y. Wang. "Search-Based Peer Firms: Aggregating Investor Perceptions Through Internet Co-Searches." Journal of Financial Economics 116, no. 2 (May 2015): 410–431. | en_US |
dc.identifier.issn | 0304-405X | en_US |
dc.identifier.uri | http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:17416619 | |
dc.description.abstract | Applying a "co-search" algorithm to Internet traffic at the SEC's EDGAR website, we develop a novel method for identifying economically-related peer firms and for measuring their relative importance. Our results show that firms appearing in chronologically adjacent searches by the same individual (Search-Based Peers or SBPs) are fundamentally similar on multiple dimensions. In direct tests, SBPs dominate GICS6 industry peers in explaining cross-sectional variations in base firms' out-of-sample (a) stock returns, (b) valuation multiples, (c) growth rates, (d) R&D expenditures, (e) leverage, and (f) profitability ratios. We show that SBPs are not constrained by standard industry classification and are more dynamic, pliable, and concentrated. We also show that co-search intensity captures the degree of similarity between firms. Our results highlight the potential of the collective wisdom of investors―extracted from co-search patterns―in addressing long-standing benchmarking problems in finance. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.publisher | Elsevier | en_US |
dc.relation.isversionof | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304405X15000197 | en_US |
dash.license | OAP | |
dc.subject | perception | en_US |
dc.subject | search technology | en_US |
dc.subject | investment | en_US |
dc.title | Search-Based Peer Firms: Aggregating Investor Perceptions Through Internet Co-Searches | en_US |
dc.type | Journal Article | en_US |
dc.description.version | Author's Original | en_US |
dc.relation.journal | Journal of Financial Economics | en_US |
dash.depositing.author | Wang, Changyi Chang-Yi | |
dc.date.available | 2015-07-16T13:31:42Z | |
dash.authorsordered | false | |
dash.contributor.affiliated | Wang, Charles | |