IPOs and Corporate Governance

Abstract

This article discusses various aspects of corporate governance and initial public offerings (IPOs). It begins with an analysis of agency theory that addresses IPOs and corporate governance research, together with the impact of governance on investors. It then considers three aspects of corporate governance that are relevant to outside investors to the IPO: the IPO firm’s board of directors, executive compensation, and ownership concentration. It also examines how national institutions affect corporate governance worldwide and looks at two types of IPOs backed by private equity (PE): venture capital backed IPOs of entrepreneurial firms and PE-backed buyouts of companies that subsequently launch an IPO. The article also analyzes the link between information asymmetries and IPO performance before concluding with an outline of directions for future research that focus on important issues relating to IPOs and corporate governance.