Title: Academic directors and IPO initial returns

Authors: Bazeet Olayemi Badru; Nurwati A. Ahmad-Zaluki; Wan Nordin Wan-Hussin

Addresses: School of Economics, Finance and Banking, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia ' Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia ' Othman Yeop Abdullah Graduate School of Business, Universiti Utara Malaysia, 06010 UUM Sintok, Kedah, Malaysia

Abstract: This study examines the impact of academic directors on IPO initial returns. With a sample of 208 Malaysian IPOs over the period of 2005 to 2015 and applying a quantile regression (QR) technique, this study finds that the academic directors are significantly and negatively associated with IPO initial returns, indicating IPOs with more directors from the academia can better serve as a signal of a company's quality. Such directors are perceived by potential investors as intellectuals capable of providing knowledgeable skills in complex decision-making, like IPO, as well as advising and monitoring the management. These findings indicate that IPO issuers can demonstrate their quality through a highly educated board.

Keywords: academic directors; corporate governance; IPO initial returns; quantile regression; Malaysia.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBGE.2018.095413

International Journal of Business Governance and Ethics, 2018 Vol.13 No.1, pp.33 - 58

Received: 07 Sep 2017
Accepted: 11 Jun 2018

Published online: 03 Oct 2018 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article