Footnote:
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments November 16, 2022 erstellt
Description:
In this study, we examine whether social media activity can reduce corporate misconduct. We use the staggered introduction of 3G mobile broadband access across the United States to identify exogenous increases in social media activity and test whether access to 3G reduces misconduct. We find that facilities reduce violations by 1.8% and penalties by 13% following the introduction of 3G in a local area. To validate social media activity as the underlying mechanism, we show that 3G access results in sharp increases in Tweet volume and that facilities located in areas with high Tweet volume engage in less misconduct. The effect of 3G access on misconduct is stronger for facilities of more visible firms and concentrated in non-financial violations, such as those involving unsafe workplace conditions and inappropriate treatment of employees and customers. Overall, our results demonstrate that social media plays an important role in monitoring corporate misconduct