New product announcements effect on stock prices in India

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to study the impact of new product announcements on the shareholder value in India since; there is lack of perceptive results regarding the impact. Also, an attempt has been made to analyse the determinants of value creation, by industry type, which has so far escaped the attention of researchers.Design/methodology/approachFirst, standard event study methodology has been used to measure the abnormal gains/losses of the announcing firms for the new product introductions. Second, regression analysis has been conducted to find out the relationship between the shareholder value and the firm and industry characteristic variables.FindingsThe results of the study show that the announcing companies in India have got significant positive returns during the announcement of the new product. The value stands at 0.00455 for the event day. In the second part, the application of the regression test has found that firm size, R&D intensity, free cash flow, debt ratio and market size are significant variables in the determination of the shareholder value.Originality/valueThe present study goes a step further in establishing the reasons for value creation when new product announcements are made by the Indian firms. The analysis has been carried out industry wise to identify the determinants of shareholder value in different industries. This would guide the decision makers at the strategic level and players of the stock market at large in taking much more informed decisions.