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Story Stocks: How Stock Market-Induced Corporate Identity is Being Formed

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Rubric: Economy, Economic Theory
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2022-66-1-100-109
MGIMO University, 76, Prosp. Vernadskogo, Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation;
Primakov National Research Institute of World Economy and International Relations, Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO), 23, Profsoyuznaya Str., Moscow, 117997, Russian Federation.
 

Received 31.08.2021.


Abstract

The article examines the process of forming a “stock market-induced corporate identity”. Nowadays, the concept of corporate identity is becoming multifaceted and interdisciplinary. The main thing in forming this image is the role and active position of the company’s management, a built-up system of communications with society, and a proactive management policy. At the same time, there are external factors of corporate identity that do not depend on the proactive actions of management. According to the author, the financial market can be the field for establishing indirect communications between corporations and society where many investors are mediating. The stock market-induced corporate identity is forming in the process of this mediation. The driving belt between the financial market and corporate identity is investors’ behavior, moods, preferences, and characteristics of investment choices. Recently emotions and subjective moods are replacing fundamental analysis. As a result, investors selecting the groups of stocks with the most noticeable stories – “story stocks”. These stories provoke their rush of investment demand. Story stocks serve as an integrated concept for “meme stocks”, “hot stocks”, “NFT stocks”, “buzzing stocks”, “concept stocks”, “thematic investing”, “ESG stocks”. The author shows the dynamics and growth of investors’ attention to these groups of stocks in the article. Based on the analysis of quotes and fundamental indicators of story stocks, the author proves that the formation of corporate identity is divorced from internal factors that depend on the corporation itself, its management and shareholders, and increasingly depends on external factors determined by market sentiments of investors. The stock market-induced corporate identity is acquiring an independent role as one of the critical drivers of investors’ behavior. Analysis of story stocks reveals a particular pattern: the more popular and louder the stories of stocks the more their value breaks away from the fundamental indicators.


Keywords

story stocks, meme stocks, corporate identity, financial market, sustainable development, non-fungible tokens, retail investors, investors’ sentiments, corporate citizenship, ESG


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For citation:
Milovidov V. Story Stocks: How Stock Market-Induced Corporate Identity is Being Formed. World Eсonomy and International Relations, 2022, vol. 66, No 1, pp. 100-109. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2022-66-1-100-109

Contents World Eсonomy and International Relations. 2022, vol. 66, No 1

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