The relationship between shareholder wealth effects, diversity, and publicity as a marketing strategy
Vivek K. Pandey, Kevin J. Shanahan, Scott W. Hansen
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · 2005 · Volume 33 · Issue 4
Abstract
Using theFortune diversity eliteas a sample, the authors find significant initial shareholder gains, as measured by stock price reaction to firms publicizing their inclusion on the diversity elite list as a part of their marketing communication strategy. However, these initial effects do not materialize into higher annual measures of profitability (i.e., return on equity, return on assets, and return on investment) for these firms when compared with other similarly sizedfirms from similar industries in theFortune1000 list. This suggests that for firms seeking enhancements in reportable measures of financial performance, having and publicizing a diverse workforce, including sales personnel, does not provide superior financial performance in comparison with other non-diversity elitefirms. Shareholder wealth gains to these firms, however, are real and significant.
Keywords
diversity, wealth effects, marketing strategy, event study, publicity
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