Working papers:
[1] Social Media Reactions to Product Announcements and Competitive Response
with Ph.D. Student Yuan Meng
Abstract: We examine whether firms’ product market strategies are associated with social media reactions to competitors’ product announcements. We document that product announcements trigger heightened discussions on social media. Firms adjust their product offerings to a greater extent in the following year when their competitors’ new products attract strong social media attention, which is further amplified by favorable sentiment. Furthermore, high attention is linked to greater product differentiation, while positive sentiment correlates with convergence in product offerings when attention is moderate. These effects persist after controlling for alternative information channels, product market dynamics, and firm characteristics. We argue that social media serves as a valuable external source of real-time, crowdsourced information on the consumer side, reflecting potential consumer base and preferences for new products. This is evidenced by results showing the baseline associations are driven by product-related discussions and stronger in market-oriented industries. [SSRN Link]
Presentations: CUHK brownbag seminar (2025)* ; Sydney Banking and Financial Stability Conference (SBFC 2025)*; 6th Annual RCF-ECGI Conference 2025; Seminar at Central University of Finance and Economics (2025)
An asterisk (*) indicates presentations delivered by myself.
[2] Competition and New Product Introductions: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry
with Sudipto Dasgupta and Fangyuan Ma
Abstract: We study how cannibalization concerns shape firms’ product launch decisions. In the pharmaceutical industry, the threat of generic competitor entering a branded product’s market reduces cannibalization concerns for pipeline launches, while having limited impact on the standalone value of pipeline product. We find that such competitive threats accelerate pipeline launches, which in turn decrease sales of the threatened product in a period before the competitor's actual market entry. Our findings underscore how competitive pressure accelerates the commercialization of new products by reducing cannibalization costs, fostering creative destruction and strengthening the link between innovation and growth. [SSRN Link]
Presentations: Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (FMA 2025)*; Southern Finance Association (SFA 2025)*; China International Conference in Finance (CICF 2025)*; AsianFA Annual Conference (2025)*; Asia-Pacific Corporate Finance Online Workshop (ACFOW 2024)*; Greater Bay Area Finance Workshop (2024)*; PHBS-CUHKSZ Economics and Finance Workshop (2024)*
Best Paper Award from Greater Bay Area Finance Workshop (2024)
Social Science Research Network (SSRN) top ten download list for ERN.
[3] Do Shared Analysts Shape Competitive Behavior? Evidence from Product Announcements
with Sudipto Dasgupta and Fangyuan Ma
Abstract: We examine how security analysts influence competitive product market interactions among US public firms. Using product announcement data, we show that firms tend to launch new products in response to rivals’ product launches, especially when sharing analyst coverage. These results are not due to common economic shocks. Comparing recommendation revisions by analysts covering both rival and focal firms versus those covering only rivals, we find that only favorable revisions from common analysts following rivals’ product announcements are influential for new product announcements. We find evidence supporting both an information spillover channel and a peer pressure channel, in which common analysts play a role. Our findings reveal a key feedback effect from financial markets to firms’ strategic decision-making. [SSRN Link]
Presentations: Financial Management Association Annual Meeting (FMA 2025)*; Southern Finance Association (SFA 2025)*; Asia-Pacific Corporate Finance Online Workshop (ACFOW 2025)*; AsianFA Annual Conference (2024)*
Semi-Finalist for the Best Paper Award of FMA Annual Meeting (2025)
Social Science Research Network (SSRN) top ten download list for ERN and CGN.
Working in progress:
[4] Contract Violation and Product Market Competition, with Ph.D. Student, Yuan Meng