The Effect of Investment Analysts' Recommendation on Firm's Strategic Change

Abstract

Despite the growing literature of the role of investment analysts influencing firm behavior, researchers have still not addressed whether pressures from investment analysts affect firms strategic change when firms are under general business conditions. The research questions that guide through this study is largely two parts: can external constituents, such as investment analysts, affect firms strategic change, and which firms or CEOs are more malleable to such external pressures, resulting greater strategic change at firms. Drawing upon institutionalism and behavioral theory of the firm, I hypothesized that investment analyst recommendations influence firms strategic changes and this effect is amplified when firms prior performance is low, and when CEOs career horizon is long. Drawing from the sample of 86 firms in the manufacturing industry, results show that negative analyst recommendations trigger strategic change at firms, and especially those with poor prior performance show greater strategic change.