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Study on IPO Quality Signals for Startups: Focusing on KOSDAQ (스타트업의 상장 전 품질 신호 연구: KOSDAQ 시장 중심)

Bohyeon Son;Daemyeong Cho
- Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
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- v.19 no.4
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- pp.55-67
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- 2024
This study aims to identify signals that can predict the quality of startups aiming to be listed on Korea's KOSDAQ market. The startups are divided into two groups: those backed by venture capital, where a third party has addressed information asymmetry, and those not backed by venture capital. The study seeks to identify signals to help select good companies for each group. The study primarily focuses on underpricing, which strongly correlates with company quality. It aims to investigate the causal relationship between underpricing and independent variables such as underwriter reputation, institutional investor competition rate, locked-up share ratio, and extended lockup period. The empirical analysis shows that IPOs with high institutional investor subscription competition, IPOs of start-ups without VC backing matched with reputable lead managers, and IPOs with high lockup shares of start-ups with VC backing are significantly underpriced. This study provides a theoretical and logical basis for strategically choosing the level of underpricing, considering the circumstances of the firm going public, mainly whether it is VC-backed or not, and considering the effectiveness of other signals mentioned above. It also opens the door for further research by researchers in other regions to study institutional investors' subscription ratio as the pre-listing signal that can help address information asymmetry. From a policymaker's perspective, the disclosure of the above information can be considered to reduce information asymmetry for investors.
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