Why Are Successive Cohorts of Listed Firms Persistently Riskier?

Prior studies show that the risk level of each new cohort of listed firms is higher than its predecessor’s. We find that these risk differences are persistent and investigate two potential explanations: (1) Each cohort adopts and retains operating innovations that are associated with higher risks and (2) increasing numbers of younger and less-experienced firms are represented in each new cohort. Our results support the first explanation. Each new cohort uses riskier production technologies and operates in more competitive product markets than its predecessor.

Keywords: Idiosyncratic risk, earnings volatility, intangible investments, product market uncertainty

JEL Classification: M41, G11, G32

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Srivastava, Anup and Tse, Senyo Y., Why Are Successive Cohorts of Listed Firms Persistently Riskier? (January 15, 2016). European Financial Management Journal, Forthcoming, Mays Business School Research Paper No. 2724081, Tuck School of Business Working Paper No. 2724081, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2724081 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2724081