Title: An empirical study on the impact of blockchain on the cost of company equity financing

Authors: Yan Yue; Hannah Ji; Jonah Ji

Addresses: School of Business, Sanda University, Shanghai, China ' Johnson College of Business, Cornell University, New York, USA; Ernest & Young, Massachusetts, USA ' Escambia Virtual Academy, University of West Florida, Florida, USA

Abstract: Blockchain, big data and other advanced mobile technologies are now more than ever heavily adopted in the financial field. This paper analyses whether the cost of equity financing can be reduced by the implementation of blockchain and other mobile information technology. Using Python language to measure word frequency, this paper measures the number of occurrences of words referring to mobile information technology occur in regular reports and announcements of listed companies. Empirical results indicate that the implementation of blockchain and other mobile information technologies by listed companies causes a significant increase in the cost of financing in short-term. But the conclusion is opposite in long-term. Furthermore, results indicate that the degree of marketisation and level of urban Internet development amongst which any given listed company operates significantly impacts the degree of effect blockchain and other mobile information technology has on companies while significantly reducing the cost of equity financing.

Keywords: blockchain; mobile information technology; equity finance; financing costs; information transparency; trust risk.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMC.2024.138788

International Journal of Mobile Communications, 2024 Vol.23 No.4, pp.500 - 519

Received: 01 Aug 2022
Accepted: 18 Oct 2022
Published online: 31 May 2024 *

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