Investor relations: conference call, web usage grow.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: BusinessBriefs - Brief Article

Companies anxious to build or restore investor trust are increasingly turning to conference calls, according to an Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management professor whose research also finds increased share values for firms that use such interactive communication. And, more and more of those calls are taking place online, rather than by phone.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"Conference calls and webcasts can allay the suspicion of investors," says Associate Professor Kin Lo. "If management is willing to do conference calls, investors can better detect whether management is being fully forthcoming and will feel less uncertainty about the company. But if you are reluctant to be interactive, investors may infer that you are hiding something."

According to Lo, the Internet is rapidly displacing the telephone as the primary vehicle for...