Table A1

Variable definitions

Variable nameDefinition
FailureThe indicator variable is equal to 1 if the firm failed within five years after IPO and 0 otherwise
Altman Z-ScoreEqual to the sum of [1.2 × (current assets - current liabilities)/total assets + 1.4 × retained earnings/total assets +3.3 × earnings before interest and taxes/total assets + 0.6 × market value of equity/book value of total liabilities + 0.1 × sales/total assets]
Earningsmanagementvariables
AbnCFOAbnormal cash flow from operations is measured as deviations from the predicted values from the corresponding industry-year regression
AbnPRODAbnormal production is measured as deviations from the predicted values from the corresponding industry-year regression
AbnDISXAbnormal discretionary expenses are measured as deviations from the predicted values from the corresponding industry-year regression
Rm_PROXYThe sum of the standardized three real earnings management proxies
Abs_DAThe absolute value of discretionary accruals is computed using the Modified Jones model
Entrenchment variable
Poison pillA shareholder right is triggered in the event of an unauthorized change in control that typically renders the target company financially unattractive or dilutes the voting power of the acquirer
Controlvariables
Offer_priceIPO offer price
Firstday_retFirst-day initial returns: closing price on the IPO date less offer price as % of the offer price
LeverageTotal liabilities are divided by the sum of total assets plus the proceeds raised at the IPO date
Gross_marginThe ratio of sales minus cost of goods sold to sales
Big4The indicator variable equals 1 if the firm has Big 4 and 0 otherwise
BTMThe book-to-market ratio is calculated as the book value of equity divided by the market value of equity
NidummyThe indicator variable equals 1 if the firm has negative earnings and 0 otherwise
VC dummyDummy variable that equals 1 if the IPO firms are backed by VC and 0 otherwise
LogageMeasured as the natural logarithm of 1 + IPO firm age, where firm age is calculated as the difference between the firm's founding date and its IPO date
OverhangOverhang is defined as the number of shares outstanding prior to the issue minus secondary shares offered in the IPO, all divided by the total shares offered in the IPO
Investment opportunityWe measure investment opportunities as the ratio between research and development (R&D) expense and net sales
Product market competitionThe product market competition is measured as (−1) times Herfindahl–Hirschman Index (Hj) computed as the sum of squared market shares of all firms on Compustat in an industry based on a three-digit SIC code. Market share is calculated based on the ratio of firm i's sales to the industry j's total sales
High-/low-technology firmsThe dummy variable takes a value of 1 if the firm belongs to the high-tech industry (DHTECH) and 0 if it belongs elsewhere

Source(s): Table by authors

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