Unraveling the Dynamic Effects of Voluntary Quality Disclosure in the Chain Operations Context

Voluntary quality disclosure is widely used as a tool for enterprises to proactively convey quality information to the market. However, prior research has revealed substantial discrepancies concerning the impacts of voluntary quality disclosure. To unravel these conflicting results, this study adopts a dynamic perspective to elucidate the impact of voluntary quality disclosure. Leveraging data from a prominent Chinese restaurant chain, encompassing transaction records and social media posts, this study employs a combination of propensity score matching and a staggered difference-in-difference model for rigorous empirical analysis. The findings indicate that voluntary quality disclosure induces a time-varying influence on transactional performance for the exposed stores. Moreover, the store's established experience mitigates the adverse effects of voluntary quality disclosure. Additionally, in the context of chain operations, there is a discernible negative spillover effect on adjacent unexposed stores. In conclusion, our study offers practical guidance for enterprises to formulate voluntary quality disclosure strategies.