Title: Data Privacy Risk
Abstract: Enterprises' increasing dependence on personal data exposes them to a key but hard-to-measure intangible risk—data privacy risk (referring to the risk of financial, operational, and reputational damage faced by enterprises in the collection, storage, use, and other practices of personal data).
This study constructs a firm-level "data privacy risk index (DPRisk)" through textual analysis of earnings call discussions, and confirms its uniqueness through multi-dimensional verification:
Scenario correlation: The index will increase significantly during major regulatory events and high-profile privacy incidents;
Industry/enterprise characteristics: DPRisk is systematically higher in data-intensive industries and enterprises subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR);
Historical correlation: Significantly related to enterprises' past privacy violations.
At the same time, the study reveals the economic significance of DPRisk: Enterprises with higher DPRisk have lower abnormal returns on earnings announcements and higher bank loan spreads—indicating that data privacy risk is a persistent corporate risk dimension priced by the market in the modern digital economy.
Speaker: Dr. Zheyao Pan
Position: Professor, Department of Applied Finance, Macquarie University;
Educational background: PhD in Finance, University of Queensland;
Research fields: Corporate finance, financial intermediation, supply chain finance;
Academic achievements: Published papers in top journals such as Review of Financial Studies and Journal of Corporate Finance, and won multiple best paper awards at academic conferences;
Academic positions: Associate Editor of Accounting and Finance, and his research results have been reported by media such as Harvard Business Review.
Date & time: 23 December 2025, 15:00 - 17:00
Venue: B321, Zhixin Building, Central Campus, Shandong University
