Empirical Capital Market Research on Conference Calls: A Literature Review

Abstract

Over the last decades, conference calls held in conjunction with an earnings release have become an important instrument for disclosure on capital markets. This paper reviews the empirical literature on the determinants and economic consequences of conference calls. We structure our literature review around topics such as the access to conference calls, the participation and capital market reactions. In addition, we review studies, which examine the phenomenon conference call to gain important insights into the information content of conference calls as well as the communication behavior of participants. Finally, our review identifies opportunities for future research. The literature review includes 49 studies from highly-ranked international journals between 1998 and 2018.