Can minority shareholder activism reduce stock price crash risk in the mobile internet era?

Using a deep-learning-based sentiment classification approach, this study analyzes more than 130 million posts from China’s largest online stock forum (Eastmoney Guba) between 2014 and 2019, focusing on minority shareholder activism (MSA) characterized by information depth. Empirical evidence from A-share listed firms shows that information-depth-oriented MSA significantly reduces stock price crash risk (CR) by helping to surface concealed information and improving the market’s interpretation of firm-specific news. This mitigating effect becomes more pronounced during periods of heightened market pessimism. The findings highlight the role of informed minority shareholders as an informal monitoring mechanism in reducing crash risk.