PhD Oral Exam - Soheil Khodadadi, Business Administration

When studying for a doctoral degree (PhD), candidates submit a thesis that provides a critical review of the current state of knowledge of the thesis subject as well as the student’s own contributions to the subject. The distinguishing criterion of doctoral graduate research is a significant and original contribution to knowledge.

Once accepted, the candidate presents the thesis orally. This oral exam is open to the public.

Abstract

Firms disclose narratives about artificial intelligence (AI) while responding to economic shocks and changing information environments. This thesis examines those disclosures and their relation to subsequent technological activity through three empirical essays. The first essay studies U.S. state minimum-wage changes and corporate AI disclosure. Annual report mentions rise after minimum wage increases, including in neighbouring states, and the increase is stronger in labour-intensive industries. Strong union representation is associated with fewer AI discussions, while actionable plans respond more than speculative mentions. The second essay uses Sinclair Broadcast Group’s staggered entry into local television markets to study corporate disclosure after a change in local news supply. Treated firms reduce the prominence of AI language after entry; patenting, research and development (R&D) intensity, AI-related employee share, and institutional ownership also decline around entry. The third essay classifies AI-related sentences in 10-K filings as actionable, speculative, or irrelevant and combines disclosure composition with contemporaneous AI patent weakness in PatentMismatch, an audited proxy for low-credibility disclosure. PatentMismatch exceeds 40% of AI-talking firm-years in 2024 and 2025 and predicts weaker subsequent AI patent grants and profitability and higher subsequent R&D intensity. Disclosure credibility improves after U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) comment-letter scrutiny and weakens around large equity-issuance windows and with stronger chief executive officer (CEO) equity incentives; filing-date reactions remain muted. The essays show that labour costs, local news supply, and disclosure credibility shape firms’ AI communication through distinct empirical channels.