Investor relations: a Nordic School approach

The objective in investor relationships is to create common long‐term interaction between the companies and their direct and indirect partner groups in the investor community. Information provided for the investors is a key instrument in investor relationship marketing. The short‐term investor episodes initially form the basis of long‐term investor relations. Various relational bonds of attraction, trust and commitment may evolve in the investor community. Attraction is mainly a future‐oriented bond. It incorporates the expectations of each party concerning the potential rewards of the exchange relationship over time. Trust has its roots clearly in the common history of the relationship, but is essentially also coloured by current expectations about the future. Commitment is the most advanced bond and takes the most time to develop. It primarily reflects the prior history of the relationship. Empirical evidence from the Finnish stock market suggests that success in investor relations requires the companies to extend the scope of investor relations from a mere publication of obligatory annual and interim reports to more frequent, extensive, proactive and diversified two‐way interaction and communication.