How do heterogeneous institutional investors influence corporate advertising decisions?

Marketing increases firm value; therefore, it is imperative to determine the factors affecting corporate marketing decision processes. Considering that the current understanding of these factors is limited, this study examines institutional investors’ effects on Korean firms’ marketing decisions by focusing on advertising spending. We present evidence that institutional investors may play a significant role in such decisions. Further, our results indicate that domestic institutional investors negatively influence advertising spending. In contrast, foreign institutional investors positively impact advertising spending regardless of their investment horizon. These results highlight the influence of external institutions’ characteristics in firms’ marketing decision processes.