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Do the Burdens to Being Public Affect the Investment and Innovation of Newly Public Firms?

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  • Michael Dambra

    (University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, New York 14260;)

  • Matthew Gustafson

    (Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802)

Abstract

We examine how regulatory burdens affect the investment and innovation of newly public firms. To do so, we exploit the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, which eliminates certain disclosure, auditing, and governance requirements for a subset of newly public firms. Firms treated with these reduced burdens invest more and more efficiently after going public relative to untreated firms. These findings are concentrated in innovative investments and are nonexistent in dual-class firms. Overall, our findings suggest that the burdens to being public exacerbate agency frictions, which lead managers to take on fewer risky projects.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Dambra & Matthew Gustafson, 2021. "Do the Burdens to Being Public Affect the Investment and Innovation of Newly Public Firms?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 67(1), pages 594-616, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:67:y:2021:i:1:p:594-616
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2019.3436
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    3. Chu, Yongqiang & Liu, Ming & Zhang, Shu, 2022. "The JOBS Act and mergers and acquisitions," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    4. Badryah Alhusaini & Kimball L. Chapman & Hal D. White, 2023. "Private disclosure and myopia: evidence from the JOBS act," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 1570-1617, September.
    5. Wolfgang Bessler & Johannes Beyenbach & Marc Steffen Rapp & Marco Vendrasco, 2023. "Why do firms down-list or exit from securities markets?," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 1175-1211, May.
    6. Divakaruni, Anantha & Jones, Howard, 2021. "Disclosure, Firm Growth, and the JOBS Act," SocArXiv 3zumb, Center for Open Science.
    7. Lattanzio, Gabriele & Megginson, William L. & Sanati, Ali, 2023. "Dissecting the listing gap: Mergers, private equity, or regulation?," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

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