André Tomano

Assessing the value of the intangible asset base that drives firm value is a pivotal task for financial analysts and investors. Firms have therefore created specialized investor relations (IR) teams that maintain contact with and inform these stakeholders about the firms’ performance. This study investigates the relationship a firm maintains with its analyst and investor base through the market-based asset Analyst & Investor Relationships (AIR). Using a comprehensive survey-based measure of AIR quality across an unbalanced panel of 1,159 U.S. firms from 2015 to 2020, findings suggest that this asset contributes positively to firm value, measured by Total q. Furthermore, drawing on resource-based theory, the study explores marketing capabilities (MC) as a critical antecedent of AIR. The findings indicate that firms with higher MC exhibit stronger AIR. Additionally, the study examines how the communication of MC in quarterly earnings calls further enhances the value of AIR. Findings suggest that a firm’s ability to effectively “market its shares” to analysts and investors strengthens relationship quality. This study contributes to the marketing–finance literature by demonstrating the positive impact of MC on a firm’s financial relationships, providing deeper insights into the underlying mechanisms through which MC contributes to firm value.