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Looking Attractive until You Sell: Earnings Management, Lockup Expiration, and Venture Capitalists

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  • Dae-il Nam
  • Haemin Dennis Park
  • Jonathan D. Arthurs

Abstract

Earnings management occurs when managerial discretion allows managers to influence reported earnings and thus mislead some investors about the underlying economic performance and quality of the firm. This study considers how potential investors may guard against earnings management by observing negative stock price reaction at the lockup expiration period of initial public offering (IPO) firms as a negative signal. Findings from a sample of 160 newly public firms show that earnings management behaviour is stronger in IPO firms backed by venture capitalists (VCs). Moreover, VC reputation negatively moderates this relationship such that IPO firms backed by reputable VCs are less likely to manage earnings, suggesting that reputable VCs serve an auditing function following an IPO. Overall, we provide insights into signalling theory by examining negative signals arising from the behaviour of multiple agents in an IPO firm.

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  • Dae-il Nam & Haemin Dennis Park & Jonathan D. Arthurs, 2014. "Looking Attractive until You Sell: Earnings Management, Lockup Expiration, and Venture Capitalists," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(8), pages 1286-1310, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jomstd:v:51:y:2014:i:8:p:1286-1310
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    3. Hermes, Cornelis & Oxelheim, L. & Randoy, Trond & Hooghiemstra, Reginald, 2015. "The impact of board internationalization on earnings management," Research Report 15010-I&O, University of Groningen, Research Institute SOM (Systems, Organisations and Management).
    4. Haemin Dennis Park & Pankaj C. Patel, 2015. "How Does Ambiguity Influence IPO Underpricing? The Role of the Signalling Environment," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(6), pages 796-818, September.
    5. Julian Bafera & Simon Kleinert, 2023. "Signaling Theory in Entrepreneurship Research: A Systematic Review and Research Agenda," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2419-2464, November.
    6. Haemin Dennis Park & Daniel Tzabbar, 2016. "Venture Capital, CEOs’ Sources of Power, and Innovation Novelty at Different Life Stages of a New Venture," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 27(2), pages 336-353, April.
    7. Haman, Janto & Chalmers, Keryn & Fang, Victor, 2017. "IPO lockups, long run returns, and growth opportunities," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 184-199.
    8. Zhong, Xi & Chen, Weihong & Ren, Ge, 2022. "The impact of corporate social irresponsibility on emerging-economy firms’ long-term performance: An explanation based on signal theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 345-357.
    9. Sahil Narang & Rudra P. Pradhan, 2021. "IPO lock-up: a review and assessment," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 48(3), pages 343-369, September.
    10. Jelic, Ranko & Zhou, Dan & Ahmad, Wasim, 2021. "Do stressed PE firms misbehave?," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
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