Retraction Statement: Relationship Incentives and the Optimistic/Pessimistic Pattern in Analysts' Forecasts

• Date: 01 September 2015
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1475-679X.12086
• Published date: 01 September 2015

DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12086

Journal of Accounting Research

Vol. 53 No. 4 September 2015

Printed in U.S.A.

Retraction Statement: Relationship

Incentives and the

Optimistic/Pessimistic Pattern in

Analysts’ Forecasts

The above article, published online on December 17, 2007 in Wiley Online

Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between

the authors Robert Libby, Hun-Tong Tan and Nicholas Seybert, the journal

Editors, Ray Ball, Philip Berger, Christian Leuz, Haresh Sapra, and Dou-

glas Skinner, The Accounting Research Center at the University of Chicago

Booth School of Business and Wiley Periodicals Inc.

After receiving notice of Bentley University’s report on Dr. James E.

Hunton (available at https://www.bentley.edu/files/Hunton%20report%

20July21.pdf), the Editors contacted the authors for additional informa-

tion to help establish the validity of data that form the basis for this article.

Additionally, the Editors and authors received additional information from

Bentley University that relates specifically to this paper. The following re-

traction request was submitted by three of the four authors, Robert Libby,

Hun-Tong Tan and Nicholas Seybert.

“Bentley University conducted an investigation finding that Dr. J.E.

Hunton had, while a member of the Bentley University faculty and with-

out the knowledge of his co-authors, engaged in scientific misconduct [in

relation to two published articles]. Dr. Hunton gathered the data used in

this study. Therefore, we conclude that the validity of the data underlying

the experimental results cannot be confirmed, and request that this article

be retracted.”

Through his counsel, Dr. Hunton contends that the data are valid

and disagrees with the coauthors’ request to voluntarily retract the

article. Dr. Hunton further indicates that “the data cannot be verified be-

cause the source firm no longer exists.” Dr. Hunton’s counsel also indicates

that “Dr. Hunton does not recall the names of his contacts due to the pas-

sage of time, and any source documents that might have existed have long

been properly disposed of in accordance with reasonable record retention

expectations.”

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Copyright C, University of Chicago on behalf of the Accounting Research Center,2015