Abstract: Based on the “quasi natural experiment”scenario of the step-by-step pilot and gradual opening up of the margin-trading and short-selling (MTSS) program in China’s capital market, this study conducts an unstructured text analysis on the Q&A text data of the negative questions from investors in Shenzhen Stock Exchange Interactive Easy and Shanghai Stock Exchange e-Interactive, and explores the impact of MTSS on investor questioning characteristics and response strategies of listed companies. The findings show that after listed companies become the subject of MTSS, the number of negative questions from investors on online interactive platforms significantly increases. However, the number of responses from listed companies to these questions significantly decreases, and the similarity of texts also significantly decreases. The responses are characterized by simplicity and ambiguity. This is because, on the one hand, in the context of MTSS, the negative questions from investors pose a risk of stock price decline for companies, prompting the companies with higher levels of operational risk and greater uncertainty to respond more vaguely. On the other hand, MTSS bring higher compliance risks to information disclosure for listed companies, prompting the companies with higher proprietary costs and relatively weak internal controls to be more cautious in information disclosure. Therefore, it is necessary to further optimize the regulatory scheme for investor-company interactions on online interactive platforms, and create a more transparent and high-quality investor relationship for listed companies in the context of MTSS.

Key words: margin-trading and short-selling, online interactive platform, Q&A text features, investor relations