Double-Edged Sword of Online Communication Substantiveness in the Pursuit of Strategy Uniqueness

Drawing upon the interplay between information discount costs and proprietary costs, we argue that greater communication substantiveness can help reduce information asymmetry, thereby enhancing investor understanding and firm valuation. However, excessive communication substantiveness may expose firms to proprietary risks such as the risk of revealing strategic knowledge to competitors. We theorize an inverted U-shaped relationship between corporate strategy uniqueness and communication substantiveness. We further examine moderating roles of industry environmental munificence, state ownership, and managerial ability in shaping firms’ strategic responses. Leveraging data from China’s leading online interactive platforms— “Hudongyi” and “Ehudong,” and comprising 24,755 firm-year observations, our study provides nuanced insights into how firms navigate the strategic trade-offs inherent in digital transparency. Our study extends theories of strategic communication in the digital era by unveiling the tension between transparency benefits and proprietary risks. Practically, we suggest that firms should treat disclosure as a calibrated strategic act and regulators should adopt adaptive and tired disclosure requirements that account for industry heterogeneity.