Information Symmetry in U.S. Financial Market Regulation: A Community of Practice
研究了美国金融市场监管中一个由领导者组成的非正式实践社群，发现其起到信息对称器的作用，既有积极也有消极影响。
ABSTRACT In the last decade, regulation of the financial markets in the United States has received significant attention. In particular, the formal structures responsible for regulating the financial markets have come under heavy criticism. While we may emphasize the role that formal structures play in controlling behavior, informal structures play an important role too. This study examines an informal structure in financial market regulation. Using social network and interview data, this study defines and investigates the role of a community of practice among leaders involved in regulating the financial markets. The analysis empirically defines the characteristics of this community of practice and reveals that this informal structure serves as an information symmetricizer in this regulatory setting. Implications of information symmetry include both positive and negative consequences. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am grateful to R. Karl Rethemeyer, David P. McCaffrey, Ignacio J. Martinez-Moyano, and Christine Thurlow Brenner as well as two anonymous reviewers and the editor for comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Notes Note: Standard deviations in parentheses. Examples of concern include conflicts of interest in the auditing profession (SEC 2002), the implosion of large corporations and the continued profit of executives (U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs Citation2002a; Citation2002b; U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Citation2009), and positive credit ratings for bundles of securities composed of high-risk subprime mortgages (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Citation2008). An SRO is a non-governmental organization that has responsibility for enforcing compliance by its members with rules and regulations set by the SRO itself as well as federal securities laws. In July 2007, two SROs combined their regulatory operations. The NASD and NYSE's regulatory arm merged to form FINRA (McCaffrey and Smith Citation2007). In addition, FINRA's surveillance and oversight responsibilities were expanded further with the June 2010 announcement that FINRA will assume regulatory responsibilities for NYSE Euronext's U.S. equities and options markets as well (FINRA 2010a; 2010b). These changes come after the downward spiral of Enron and WorldCom, congressional investigations into improper accounting practices that led to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and discoveries by then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer of the conflicts of interest among investment advisors and analysts as well as late trading and market timing in the mutual fund business (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Citation2003; U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 2002; 2004; U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs Citation2002a; Citation2002b). FINRA and the NYSE are the primary self-regulatory organizations. Other SROs, such as the Chicago Stock Exchange, are important in their own areas, but FINRA and the NYSE are the primary SROs in the larger regulatory system (Smith Citation2005). This assertion is based on preliminary interviews with individuals working in the financial markets. An informant's reaction to the inclusion of these individuals was an important consideration. See note 3. Additional informationNotes on contributorsAmy E. Smith Amy E. Smith (AmyE.Smith@umb.edu) is an Assistant Professor in the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She received her PhD in Public Administration and Policy at the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York. Her current research applies organizational behavior and theory concepts to issues in public management, particularly in the areas of government regulation and the use of data in government. She is also interested in women in leadership in public organizations.