Technical Specialized Knowledge and Founder Leadership at Initial Public Offering

Abstract

This study examines factors that influence the likelihood that founders hold executive level positions in firms at the point of Initial Public Offering (IPO). Our model is conceptually more comprehensive than existing work, as we develop theory that examines founder involvement across executive positions beyond the often-studied chief executive officer (CEO). We examine our hypotheses using a database that contains virtually all IPOs spanning an 11-year period when the IPO market was active. Our empirical evidence indicates that a surprising number of founders hold leadership positions in firms at IPO. The research shows that factors that predict founder succession differ across executive positions.