“…Many studies use UTSA as an external shock to the protection of trade secrets. Recent papers in this area examine the UTSA effect on R&D and innovation activities (Barankay et al., 2018; Png, 2017a; 2017b), financial leverage (Guernsey et al., 2022), and corporate disclosure (Glaeser, 2018; Guo et al., 2017). Related to this study are the ones regarding the UTSA effect on information asymmetry and firm disclosure (Glaeser, 2018; Guernsey et al., 2022; Guo et al., 2017), although empirical evidence is mixed.…”