Market Reaction to Information Technology Investment Announcements in Russian Firms

This study examines the stock market reaction to announcements of information technology (IT) investments by Russian firms. While several similar studies have been published in the context of highly developed economies like the USA, very few such studies have been conducted in transition economies, and perhaps none previously in Russia. Based on 91 announcements between 2009 and 2012, three research hypotheses are tested. Similar to the results reported in previous studies from other countries, industry sector of the company making the IT investment has little effect on the market reaction. Also similar to the results reported from the USA, the Russian stock market seems to respond more positively to innovative IT investments than to non-innovative investments. However, in contrast to the results reported in a study conducted in Poland, where IT investments through global vendors seem to be perceived more positively than investments through local vendors, in Russia investments through global vendor are received negatively by the stock market.