In a recent study, FJRG affiliates Shana Clor-Proell (TCU), Kristi Rennekamp (Cornell), and Ryan Guggenmos (Cornell) found that when the media uses push notifications to deliver investment news as shorter, more frequent news articles, investors that are higher in “I-FoMO,” the fear of missing out on investment information, respond more favorably to positive firm news. “When push notifications highlight positive news, investors respond more favorably to shorter releases than to longer releases that contain the same information,” Clor-Proell said. “Those who have “I-FoMO” also open apps more frequently, looking for investment news and they find it difficult to ignore interruptions.” As media outlets repackage content into shorter, stand-alone pieces and develop new notification technologies like RSS feeds and text alerts to increase user engagement, investors and firms should recognize that these choices have the clear potential to impact investor decisions.

The full-text paper, published in The Accounting Review, is available at https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-52625