Effects of initial public offerings on economic performance of small and medium-sized enterprises

This study investigates the effects of the initial public offerings (I.P.O.s) of small and medium-sized enterprises (S.M.E.s) and their efforts to cooperate with large conglomerates on S.M.E.s’ economic performance and job creation. This study conducted a series of analyses of variance with a 2 × 2 between-subject design (I.P.O.s and cooperation with large conglomerates) and multiple regression analyses for credit ratings using 4419 and 3919 samples, respectively, of S.M.E.s from the Korea Innovation Survey. The results showed that I.P.O.s and cooperation with large conglomerates are positively associated with S.M.E.s’ job creation as well as multiple economic outcomes. Moreover, several scholars have argued that more accurate credit rating criteria should be proposed to evaluate the potential values of S.M.E.s because the current criteria mainly focus on their short-term financial and economic performance. Based on the results of the multiple regression analyses, this study found that I.P.O.s have a negative effect on S.M.E.s’ credit ratings, whereas cooperation with large conglomerates and job creation have no effect and the growth rates of net income and current assets have a positive effect.