The growing influence of social media personalities in shaping consumer behavior presents significant opportunities and challenges for marketers. This research integrates Social Identity Theory with the influencer marketing literature to investigate how influencer self-disclosure affects word-of-mouth intentions through consumer identification. Across four experiments (N = 1048), we demonstrate that high influencer self-disclosure consistently increases consumers’ word-of-mouth intentions compared to low self-disclosure. Consumer identification with the influencer mediates this relationship, providing a psychological mechanism through which personal narratives translate into advocacy behaviors. Furthermore, we identify two important boundary conditions: self-concept clarity moderates the relationship between self-disclosure and identification, with stronger effects for consumers experiencing identity uncertainty; and cultural collectivism orientation moderates the identification-to-WOM pathway, with collectivistic mindsets amplifying the translation of identification into advocacy. These findings contribute to both theory and practice by elucidating the psychological processes underlying influencer effectiveness and offer strategic guidance for optimizing influencer communication across diverse consumer segments and cultural contexts.

This study examines how the forward-looking Management Discussions and Analysis (MD&A) disclosure affects Merger and Acquisition (M&A) outcomes. Based on a sample of U.S. public firms for the period 1997–2018, we find that firms with more forward-looking information in MD&As are more likely to become M&A targets. The combined returns of the acquirer and the target around the deal announcement are higher in deals involving target firms with more forward-looking MD&A disclosures. The positive effects on M&A outcomes are more pronounced when forward-looking disclosures are deemed more credible and the underlying meanings are expressed more articulately, regardless of the tone. Targets with more forward-looking disclosures are associated with lower bid premiums, higher acquirer returns, and superior acquirer post-acquisition performance, measured by long-term buy-and-hold returns and financial improvements. Our results, robust to quasi-natural experiments and alternative measures, highlight the role of forward-looking information in reducing uncertainty and improving M&A efficiency.