The impact of automation on firms' reporting quality
研究发现，工业机器人采用增加会降低企业财务报告质量，原因是管理层为应对采用成本而策略性地增加报告自由度。
This paper investigates how advances in automation technologies affect firms' information environments. Using an instrumental variable research design that exploits exogenous variation in industrial robot adoption, we present robust evidence that an increase in exposure to robots causes firms to lower financial reporting quality. As automation technology adoption entails adoption costs, we find that the effect is attributable to management's strategic increase of financial reporting discretion. In light of the rapid rise of automation technologies our paper provides important insights how such technologies impact firms' reporting quality.