Publication Type
PhD Dissertation
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
6-2026
Abstract
This dissertation comprises three essays examining how information frictions, incentive structures, and market dynamics interact. Together, these essays study how information is generated, processed, and transmitted across markets, and how information flows and incentives jointly shape the behavior of market participants and, ultimately, market outcomes.
The first essay, “SPACs: Boom, Bust, and Structural Flaws,” investigates the dramatic rise and fall of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) during 2020–2023. We argue that the boom-and-bust cycle was driven by structural flaws embedded in the SPAC ecosystem, including misaligned risk-sharing arrangements, sponsor agency problems, and gatekeeper failures. Using evidence on redemption behavior, deal outcomes, and the role of financial intermediaries, we show how these incentive distortions fueled rapid market expansion while simultaneously undermining long-run performance.
The second essay, “Salient Cues of Economic Transitions in Analyst Forecasting: Evidence from the Electric Vehicle Era,” examines how salient local cues of the green transition influence financial analysts’ information processing. Using EV charging infrastructure as a proxy for local green salience, we find that analysts allocate greater attention to green firms, revise their forecasts more actively, and achieve higher forecast accuracy. The evidence suggests that salient environmental cues reshape analysts’ attention allocation and improve the information environment of green firms.
The third essay, “Employee Whistleblowing on Glassdoor and Consumer Pur- chasing Behavior,” studies whether labor-market information spills over into the product market. Combining Glassdoor employee reviews with Nielsen retail scanner data, we find that negative employee reviews reduce product sales when peer firms’ earnings announcements increase job-search activity and attention to employee-generated information. Cross-sectional analyses indicate that the effect is stronger in locations with a larger pool of potential job seekers, suggesting that consumers encounter employee information while searching for employment opportunities. The findings identify a novel channel through which labor-market information affects consumer purchasing behavior.
Taken together, these essays highlight three fundamental forces shaping market outcomes: incentives determine how market participants behave, attention influences how information is processed, and information spillovers govern how shocks propagate across markets. More broadly, the dissertation demonstrates that understanding market dynamics requires looking beyond traditional market boundaries to examine how incentives are structured, how attention is allocated, and how information travels across markets.
Degree Awarded
PhD in Business (Finance)
Discipline
Finance | Finance and Financial Management
Supervisor(s)
FU, Fangjian
First Page
1
Last Page
141
Publisher
Singapore Management University
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
GENG, Xueqing.
Information, incentives, and market dynamics. (2026). 1-141.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/924
Copyright Owner and License
Author
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.