Does More Accessible Information Make Markets More Informative? A Systematic Literature Review of Digital Disclosure, Information Acquisition, and Price Discovery
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70142/ijbge.v3i3.486Keywords:
Digital Disclosure, Information Acquisition, Information Processing Costs, Price Informativeness, Price DiscoveryAbstract
This study examines whether greater accessibility of financial information makes financial markets more informative by systematically reviewing the literature on digital disclosure, information acquisition, and price discovery. Using a qualitative systematic literature review approach, the study synthesizes prior empirical and theoretical research on how digital technologies and disclosure infrastructures affect information acquisition costs, information production, and the incorporation of information into stock prices. The findings reveal a dual effect. On the one hand, digital disclosure reduces information acquisition and processing costs, facilitates broader information access, and can improve the speed and efficiency of price discovery. On the other hand, greater accessibility may crowd out costly private information acquisition, reducing information production and, consequently, price informativeness. The review therefore demonstrates that information accessibility alone does not guarantee more informative markets. Market outcomes depend on whether public information complements or substitutes for private information production. The study proposes a complementarity crowding out framework for understanding the consequences of digital disclosure.
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