Author(s): Jin Ho Kim, Jong Eun Lee
This study investigates the relation between MD&A tone and cost behavior. To test the hypothesis that MD&A tone could be a predictor of firm cost behavior, textual analysis method was used with 10-K data. The test results exhibit that firm’s cost stickiness is positively associated with the management’s tone change. These results suggest that the management’s tone change, MD&A tone change, is one of the important determinants of the cost behavior. It implicates that managers reflect the firm’s current and future status in the MD&A section, and it could be a predictor of firm cost behavior.