This study reports the results of an experiment that shows investor's evaluation is jointly influenced by multiple reference points of resource (internal and external) and time (backwssard- and forward-looking)  information associated with management earnings guidance disclosure. Prior studies indicate that information disclosure of management guidance obtains inconsistent results and still focus on single reference point only. This study tries to extent the previous studies by focusing on multiple reference points for management guidance information disclosure. This study tests investors’ behavior toward earnings announcement which considers a company's external information and revision of information as forward-looking management guidance information.

This study presents evidence that company external (as a company’s macroeconomics information) and management earnings guidance disclosure (as a forward-looking future-oriented information) in earnings announcement, effectively help investors in evaluating company’s performance. Moreover, this research shows that management guidance disclosure, besides earnings announcement, and external information, have information contents, that investors use these multiple reference points of information to predict a company's performance in the future.  

 

Keywords: Management earnings guidance, Resource and time dimensions, Backward and forward-looking information, Internal and external information, Multiple reference points, Investor’s judgment.