Prior researches find that advertising is the most common marketing strategy and also one of the most effective way to influence consumers¡¦ purchasing decisions. On the other hand, innovation plays an important role to enhance competitiveness of firms. However, little attention has been paid to the relationship among advertising, innovation and firm values in the existing literature. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of pre-IPO advertising and innovation on the level of IPO underpricing. Furthermore, this study examines whether market states influence the impact of pre-IPO marketing expenditures and innovation on IPO underpricing levels. The empirical results show: (1) without considering market states, pre-IPO advertising expenditures significantly reduce IPO underpricing levels; (2) without considering market states, pre-IPO innovation activities significantly increase IPO underpricing levels; (2) pre-IPO innovation activities significantly increase IPO underpricing levels; (3) pre-IPO advertising expenditures cannot significantly reduce IPO underpricing levels in bull markets; and (4) pre-IPO advertising expenditures can significantly reduce IPO underpricing levels in bear and correction markets; and (5) pre-IPO innovation activities significantly increase IPO underpricing levels in bull, bear and correction markets.

Recently, there has been considerable concern with determining underpricing of initial public offerings (IPOs). This study utilizes both OLS and quantile regression model to examine whether pre-listing marketing expenditure reduce IPO underpricing using China A-share IPOs data. Our OLS result shows that firm¡¥s marketing expenditure could reduce IPO underpricing significantly that was consist with Luo¡¥s (2008) finding who investigate US IPOs market. With regard to quantile regression results, we find that pre-listing IPO marketing expenditures are significantly associated with lower underpricing for lower-underpricing stocks but with no significant effects for median-, and higher-underpricing stocks. We infer that: for lower-underpricing stocks, the risk premium investors require would be lowered because pre-listing marketing expenditures can help for raising transparency of the firm.

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Combining agency theory and the resource-dependence perspective as well as signalling theory, this thesis examines the role venture capitalists (VCs) and founders play with respect to both structural board characteristics and board capital in terms of experience and prestige and whether these are linked to performance. It claims that VCs and founders shape the governance system of the firms going public and are influential in the professionalisation of the ventures especially in terms of human and social capital of its board of directors. It also argues that the board of directors represents a signal of firm quality in the initial public offering (IPO) market and should thus be linked to performance. Similarly, according to the venture capital certification hypothesis, being funded by VCs signals a firm's quality and potential. In order to assess these claims, this thesis employs a unique sample of matched venturecapital- backed and non-venture-capital-backed entrepreneurial IPOs that floated either on the London Stock Exchange's Official List or the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Extending previous research this thesis employs more fine-grained measures and introduces new conceptually relevant variables in the analysis. The findings indicate that VCs and founders are influential in shaping corporate governance of IPO-stage ventures both from an agency and resource-provision perspective. Findings from the examination of governance and professionalisation characteristics with respect to IPO short-run performance (underpricing) indicate that it may the involvement of prestigious auditors that signal firm quality while a founder bias discount seems to exist. While evidence is found that VC involvement (and to a lesser extent director/board characteristics) is related to post-IPO market performance, this seems to depend on the time period following the IPO examined, whereas auditor prestige shows a positive association in all of these time periods.

本研究首先以資訊差異模型描述IPOs股價橫斷面與縱斷面的比較與變化。在橫斷面比較上，本研究利用貝氏定理，令投資人在擬掛牌公司釋放出歷史資訊後，首先修正其事前信念以獲得事後信念，最後再以事後有限的資訊數量推估下一期的報酬率，然因歷史資訊之數量與品質不等，下一期預測報酬率之β係數亦顯然不同。資訊結構較佳者，估計風險較低，β係數較小；資訊結構較差者，估計風險較高，β係數較大。因此，為吸引投資人對資訊結構較差之IPOs的興趣，在必要報酬率要求較高的前提下，資訊結構較差之IPOs的承銷價格必須低訂，以製造投資人可以獲利的空間。因此，在其他條件相同的情況下，資訊結構較差之IPOs其掛牌初期的股價報酬率應該優於資訊結構較佳的IPOs。 其次，在IPOs縱斷面股價行為差異之模型推導上，本研究將市場IPOs區分成資訊結構佳者與資訊結構較差者，在資訊數量與發行時間成正相關的假設下，推導出當掛牌時間t趨近時，證券間之資訊差異效果遞減，且新發行證券之β係數遞減，因而進一步推論，就所有IPOs而言，後市股價報酬率將低於估計風險相對較高的掛牌初期股價報酬率。 另外，本研究之實證共分三個層次：第一層次就IPOs橫斷面股價行為方面。本研究首先就不同發行市場的IPOs之初期股價表現進行驗證。不同發行市場對擬掛牌公司之輔導期間與體質結構有不同的要求，一般而言，集中市場之發行面較店頭市場嚴格，因此，集中市場IPOs之資訊結構理論上比店頭市場IPOs佳。實證結果發現，資訊結構較佳之集中市場IPOs，其初期投資報酬率比店頭市場IPOs差。是故，實證結果支持不同發行市場之資訊結構差異假說。繼之，根據過去文獻與個案訪談的整理，若以內部人持股比、企業規模、企業年齡、承銷商聲譽、會計師聲譽與是否轉換發行市場作為單一發行市場內資訊結構優劣分際的標準時，發現，集中市場內資訊差異效果顯著；然店頭市場內，卻只有在空頭時期上櫃之IPOs，其初期投資報酬率具有資訊差異效果。 實證之第二層次為檢定IPOs縱斷面之股價變化是否亦具有資訊差異效果。首先就不同發行市場做比較，實證結果發現，集中市場因資訊結構較佳，正式掛牌前投資人與發行公司間資訊不對稱情形較不嚴重，因此，當蜜月期過後，股價逐漸迴歸真值時，掛牌一年後股價之修正幅度較資訊結構相對不佳的店頭市場IPOs小，因此，不同發行市場間，IPOs資訊結構之縱斷面差異效果獲得支持。另外，集中市場IPOs類屬資訊結構較佳者，其後市股價下修程度遠比資訊結構差者來得少。至於店頭市場之差異效果，雖然資訊結構較佳者其股價修正幅度小於資訊結構較差者，然兩者間並未達到統計上顯著差異性，因此店頭市場縱斷面之資訊差異效果並未獲得支持。 實證之第三層次，為檢定IPOs錯估訊號來源。實證結果發現，集中市場內，由聲譽較差之承銷商輔導上市及上市前每股盈餘越少之IPOs，越容易產生價格錯估行為。而店頭市場內，越是由聲譽較差之承銷商輔導上櫃或類屬傳統產業類股之IPOs，越容易產生價格錯估行為。 / The objective of this study is twofold. First, the paper develops a model to examine cross-sectionally and dynamically the effects of differential information on various initial public offerings (IPOs). Second, this paper examines the initial return and the after-market performance for IPOs, particularly the security valuation effects of structural differences in available information. There is a diversity of information among issuing firms at the time of their offering and particularly under certain trading system and certain market conditions. Through Bayesian model development, we support the effect of differential information among IPOs of structural differences. From empirical evidence, we find that during hot market conditions and under over-the-counter (OTC) trading system and for firms characterized by poor levels of available information, the market values of issuing firms are more likely to be overestimated in the immediate after-market. We also find positive overestimation of market values to be more likely for IPOs of smaller earnings per share (EPS) and those marketed by the less prestigious underwriters under Taiwan Security Exchange (TSE) trading system, and for IPOs other than hi-tech securities and those marketed by the less prestigious underwriters under OTC trading system.

This thesis examines underpricing in Sweden using unique data on the 185 firms going public through initial public offerings (IPOs) and listing on the Stockholm Stock Exchange between 1994-2011. The average initial return in the Swedish IPO market adjusted for index movements is 11.49% but underpricing of individual IPOs was as high as 241.04%. Further, time trends in underpricing, the level of average initial returns effect on IPO supply underpricing and differences between sectors, segments and investment banks are examined. Finally, it is argued that investors must be rewarded for taking the high risk associated with IPO investing and that the average initial return of 11.49% is a reasonable compensation for that risk.

Prior studies show the evidence of non-financial variables such as marketing affects investor¡¦s response to risky asset pricing, and indicate that the distribution of risky asset returns is asymmetric and non-nomality, implying using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method with the assumption of normal distributions may lead to unreliable estimates. This study tries to apply quantile regression to the analysis of the sample in order to avoid estimation bias. This study examines whether a firm¡¦s pre-IPO marketing expenditures affects its¡¦ initial public offering (IPO) underpricing in Japan and examine whether market states influence the existing relation between pre-IPO marketing expenditures and IPO underpricing. The empirical results shows: (1) pre-IPO marketing expenditures significantly reduce IPO underpricing levels, (2) pre-IPO marketing expenditures can reduce IPO underpricing levels following bear markets as it cannot reduce IPO underpricing levels following bull markets. Therefore, as firms decide to use marketing strategies to make their firm remarkable, and in turns without concerning for market states to reduce the degree of IPO underpricing, their objective may not be reached.

Thesis advisor: Thomas Chemmanur / My dissertation consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, I analyze the impact of firms' innovation success on their corporate financial policies. I hypothesize that innovation success reduces the information asymmetry facing firms and, through the information channel, affects their capital structure and dividend policies. I measure innovation success using the quantity and quality of patents. I show that firms with higher innovation success face lower information asymmetry, measured using analyst coverage, dispersion, and forecast error. Further, I show that firms with higher innovation success have lower leverage ratios; have a greater propensity to issue equity rather than debt; and have lower dividend payout ratios. I establish causality using instrumental variable analyses with patent examiner leniency as an instrument for patent grants. In the second chapter, co-authored with Thomas Chemmanur, Xuan Tian, and Qianqian Yu, we analyze the impact of trademarks in entrepreneurial firms' success. We hypothesize that trademarks play two economically important roles for entrepreneurial firms: a “protective” role, leading to better product market performance; and an “informational” role, signaling higher firm quality to investors. We develop testable hypotheses based on the above two roles of trademarks, relating the trademarks held by private firms to the characteristics of venture capital (VC) investment in them, their probability of successful exit, their valuations at their initial public offering (IPO) and in the immediate secondary market; institutional investor IPO participation; post-IPO information asymmetry; and post-IPO operating performance. We test these hypotheses using a large and unique dataset of trademarks held by VC-backed private firms. We establish causality using an instrumental variable (IV) analysis using trademark examiner leniency as the instrument. For private firms, we find that the number of trademarks held by the firm is positively related to the total amount invested by VCs and negatively related to the extent of staging by VCs. We show that the number of trademarks held by a firm increases its probability of successful exit (IPOs or acquisitions). Further, for the subsample of VC-backed firms going public, we show that the number of trademarks held by the firm leads to higher IPO and immediate secondary market firm valuations; greater IPO participation by institutional investors; a lower extent of information asymmetry in the equity market post-IPO; and better post-IPO operating performance. In the third chapter, co-authored with Thomas Chemmanur and Jinfei Sheng, we develop testable hypotheses and empirically analyze the effects of outside investors having access to soft information such as online employee ratings from the Glassdoor website on firms' financing and investment policies. We find that higher online employee ratings are associated with larger equity issue announcement effects; a greater propensity to have positive announcement effects and to issue equity rather than debt to raise external financing; higher investment expenditures; greater equity issue participation by institutional investors; and better long-run post-issue operating performance. We establish causality using a difference-in-differences methodology relying on the staggered adoption of anti-SLAPP laws across U.S. states. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Finance.

Combining agency theory and the resource-dependence perspective as well as signalling theory, this thesis examines the role venture capitalists (VCs) and founders play with respect to both structural board characteristics and board capital in terms of experience and prestige and whether these are linked to performance. It claims that VCs and founders shape the governance system of the firms going public and are influential in the professionalisation of the ventures especially in terms of human and social capital of its board of directors. It also argues that the board of directors represents a signal of firm quality in the initial public offering (IPO) market and should thus be linked to performance. Similarly, according to the venture capital certification hypothesis, being funded by VCs signals a firm¿s quality and potential. In order to assess these claims, this thesis employs a unique sample of matched venturecapital- backed and non-venture-capital-backed entrepreneurial IPOs that floated either on the London Stock Exchange¿s Official List or the Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Extending previous research this thesis employs more fine-grained measures and introduces new conceptually relevant variables in the analysis. The findings indicate that VCs and founders are influential in shaping corporate governance of IPO-stage ventures both from an agency and resource-provision perspective. Findings from the examination of governance and professionalisation characteristics with respect to IPO short-run performance (underpricing) indicate that it may the involvement of prestigious auditors that signal firm quality while a founder bias discount seems to exist. While evidence is found that VC involvement (and to a lesser extent director/board characteristics) is related to post-IPO market performance, this seems to depend on the time period following the IPO examined, whereas auditor prestige shows a positive association in all of these time periods. / Bradford University School of Management