Social Media as a Setting for Accounting Research

ABSTRACT We describe social media as a setting for accounting research. Social media provides a setting in which accounting researchers can observe how firms and stakeholders access and share information on public forums. We review the literature and provide a framework based on incentives and consequences for accessing and sharing financial news on social media. To aid future research, we offer institutional background on several social media platforms along with guidance on using social media data for accounting research, which is accompanied by code in our Online Appendix. Finally, throughout the paper, we provide avenues for future research using social media platforms as a setting for accounting research. Data Availability: All data are available from the sources described in the text. JEL Classifications: M40.