On January 16, 2026, at 14:30 PM, the special lecture for"The 54th Frontier Forum on Digital Technology and Economic Finance:Fake Bidders, Investor Attention and Social Interaction: A major player of the Salience Theory"was successfully held in Conference Room 508,South Wenzuan Building. The lecture was delivered by Professor Alexander Molchanov from the Department of Accounting, Economics and Finance at Massey University, and hosted by Professor Jing Shi, Chief Expert of the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law. More than 30 faculty and students from the School of Finance participated offline.

The lecture officially kicked off after a brief opening speech by Professor Jing Shi. First, Professor Alexander Molchanov introduced the core viewpoints of Salience Theory. He pointed out that when making decisions, individuals tend to focus on the most "salient" features of options, and this asymmetric allocation of attention can lead to systematic cognitive biases.

Next, Professor Alexander Molchanov elaborated on the empirical findings of the research in detail. The study first confirmed a robust negative correlation between salience theory values and subsequent stock returns, indicating that stocks with salient features tend to perform poorly in the future.

When discussing the specific mechanism, Professor Alexander Molchanov pointed out that the salience effect is moderated by investor attention. Experimental results show that this effect is more concentrated and pronounced in stocks with low investor attention, which typically have characteristics such as low analyst coverage or small earnings surprises; conversely, in stocks with high attention, this negative correlation is significantly weakened. The study also found that the salience effect is particularly significant in stocks with a high proportion of retail ownership, directly linking Salience Theory in behavioral finance to specific investor group characteristics and market arbitrage constraints.

In addition, Professor Alexander Molchanov shared innovative findings on the amplifying effect of social interaction on the salience effect. Using Facebook's Social Connectivity Index or the population density of the company's headquarters location as proxy variables for social interaction, the study empirically found that dense social interaction further strengthens the negative impact of the salience effect on future returns. These findings provide a new perspective for understanding how social media and offline interactions change the pricing logic of behavioral biases in the digital age.

During the subsequent Q&A session, Professor Alexander Molchanov conducted in-depth discussions with the faculty and students present on cutting-edge issues such as the measurement methods of salience indicators, differences in effects under different market environments, and the amplifying effect of social media on behavioral biases.

Finally, Professor Jing Shi expressed his gratitude to Professor Alexander Molchanov for his wonderful sharing, and emphasized that studying the impact of investor attention and social interaction on market efficiency from the perspective of behavioral finance is a hot topic in the current international academic community. This lecture provided valuable academic insights for the faculty and students of the school. The lecture concluded successfully.

Speaker Introduction

Alexander Molchanov is the Deputy Head of School of Accountancy, Economics and Finance at Massey University. Alexander has received his PhD at the University of Miami (USA). He has joined Massey University in 2006. Alexander’s research is mostly in the area of International Finance, Politics and Finance, Econometrics. His works have been published in world-renowned journals, such as Journal of International Business Studies, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Banking and Finance, International Review of Economics and Finance, as well as in The Handbook of Trading. Alexander’s research has been presented at top international conferences. 

Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance introduction

Recent years have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in a digital revolution in economic sectors and a rapid adoption of the new generation of information technologies, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing, big data, etc. These technologies effectively set off the digital economy. It has become a key driving force in creating global economic growth, improving the modernization level of governance capabilities, and promoting high-quality economic development in China. In particular, digital finance is the most important part of the digital economy. To explore the development direction of the cross-integration of digital technology and finance, the Innovation and Talent Base for Digital Technology and Finance is hosting the “Frontier Forum for Digital Technology and Finance”, in collaboration with the School of Finance, Wenlan School of Business, Economics School, School of Information and Safety Engineering, School of Statistics and Mathematics, School of Public Finance and Taxation of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (ZUEL). This lecture series will invite the well-known scholars at home and abroad in digital technology, digital economy, digital finance, and other related fields as guest speakers, providing an open and cutting-edge academic exchange platform for interdisciplinary research on digital technology and finance.