Does Going Public Affect Innovation?

72 Pages Posted: 17 May 2012 Last revised: 12 Dec 2012

See all articles by Shai Bernstein

Shai Bernstein

Harvard University - Business School (HBS)

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Date Written: October 14, 2012

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of going public on innovation. Using a data set consisting of innovative …firms that …filed for an initial public offering (IPO), I compare the long-run innovation of …firms that completed their filing and went public with that of …firms that withdrew their filing and remained private. I use NASDAQ ‡fluctuations during the book-building period as a source of exogenous variation that affects IPO completion but is unlikely to affect long-run innovation. Using this instrumental variables approach reveals a complex trade-off between public and private ownership. The quality of internal innovation of public firms declines by 50 percent relative to …firms that remained private, measured by standard patent-based metrics. Public firms experience both an exodus of skilled inventors and a decline in productivity among remaining inventors. However, access to public equity markets allows …firms to partially offset the decline in internally generated innovation by attracting new human capital and purchasing externally generated innovations through mergers and acquisitions.

Suggested Citation

Bernstein, Shai, Does Going Public Affect Innovation? (October 14, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2061441 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2061441

Shai Bernstein (Contact Author)

Harvard University - Business School (HBS) ( email )

Boston, MA 02163
United States

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