How does dependence on key employees matter for initial public offerings of U.S. high-tech firms?

Abstract

Human capital is a key component of the resource base of the firm, particularly in high-tech entrepreneurial firms. In the initial public offering (IPO) context, the IPO firm sometimes identifies individual key employees because the IPO firm is dependent on the services of those employees. However, research is limited on determining the impact of such employee dependence on firm IPO performance. Using a sample of U.S. high-tech firms, we show that the IPO firm's performance is lower when the IPO prospectus discloses such dependence. Among firms with such disclosures, long-tenured executives increase IPO performance. In addition, the effects of long-tenured executives are stronger when multiple key employees are identified in the IPO firm.