In this study, I examine whether managers make self-serving attributions by internally (externally) attributing favorable (unfavorable) performance or demonstrate leadership by accepting blame and deflecting praise when communicating with analysts and investors. After validating the attribution measure I use in this paper, I find that managers tend to attribute favorable performance to internal factors and unfavorable performance to external factors, consistent with self-serving attribution being the dominant force. I also find that investors react negatively to mangers' internal attributions. Further analysis reveals that more internal attributions are associated with lower earnings persistence.
","abstract_html":"<p>In this study, I examine whether managers make self-serving attributions by internally (externally) attributing favorable (unfavorable) performance or demonstrate leadership by accepting blame and deflecting praise when communicating with analysts and investors. After validating the attribution measure I use in this paper, I find that managers tend to attribute favorable performance to internal factors and unfavorable performance to external factors, consistent with self-serving attribution being the dominant force. I also find that investors react negatively to mangers' internal attributions. Further analysis reveals that more internal attributions are associated with lower earnings persistence.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Chen, Zhenhua"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Mayew, William","Venkatachalam, Mohan"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:07:08Z","subjects":["Accounting"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6166","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Mayew, William","Venkatachalam, Mohan"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Chen, Zhenhua"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2013-01-16T20:29:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-01-16T20:29:05Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Accounting"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6166"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In this study, I examine whether managers make self-serving attributions by internally (externally) attributing favorable (unfavorable) performance or demonstrate leadership by accepting blame and deflecting praise when communicating with analysts and investors. After validating the attribution measure I use in this paper, I find that managers tend to attribute favorable performance to internal factors and unfavorable performance to external factors, consistent with self-serving attribution being the dominant force. I also find that investors react negatively to mangers' internal attributions. Further analysis reveals that more internal attributions are associated with lower earnings persistence.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Internal and External Attributions by Managers in Earnings Conference Calls"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Mayew, William","Venkatachalam, Mohan"],"dc:creator":["Chen, Zhenhua"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2013-01-16T20:29:05Z"],"dc:date.available":["2013-01-16T20:29:05Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2012"],"dc:description.abstract":["In this study, I examine whether managers make self-serving attributions by internally (externally) attributing favorable (unfavorable) performance or demonstrate leadership by accepting blame and deflecting praise when communicating with analysts and investors. After validating the attribution measure I use in this paper, I find that managers tend to attribute favorable performance to internal factors and unfavorable performance to external factors, consistent with self-serving attribution being the dominant force. I also find that investors react negatively to mangers' internal attributions. Further analysis reveals that more internal attributions are associated with lower earnings persistence.
"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/10161/6166"],"dc:subject":["Accounting"],"dc:title":["Internal and External Attributions by Managers in Earnings Conference Calls"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:07:08Z"}