Formulations in Delicate Actions: A Study of Analyst Questions in Earnings Conference Calls

Abstract

Many of the studies on Earnings Conference Calls have focused on the executive’s discourse. In this article, we focus on the analysts’ discourse, specifically how they handle delicate actions, such as formulating questions about a company’s negative performance points. Considering that analysts’ questions commonly present more than one version for a request, this study investigates the interactional function and linguistic differences realized in formulations used to identify or describe what analysts actually want to know. The methodological approach compares different formulations produced by the same analyst and by another analyst going back to a previously formulated question. Findings showed that request formulations gain strength when a speaker goes back to a question. Additionally, they showed that, in any case, variations in the degree of generality/specificity of each version of a question play a major role in managing the analyst’s interactive goal, namely gaining information without compromising the relationship with the company.