Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods Commons^™

The Entrepreneurial Growth Ceiling: Using People And Innovation To Mitigate Risk And Break Through The Growth Ceiling In Initial Public Offerings, Theresa M. Wellbourne, Heidi Neck, G. Dale Meyer

Theresa M. Welbourne, PhD

Purpose – In this paper the authors aim to introduce a concept that they call the “entrepreneurial growth ceiling” (EGC). They develop arguments that new venture IPOs hit the EGC prior to their IPO, and the ceiling is part of the impetus for going public. The paper argues that proceeds from the IPO will aid firms in breaking through the ceiling if the proceeds are strategically allocated. Design/methodology/approach – The study examines a cohort of firms that went public in the same year. The authors code data from the prospectuses of 366 organizations, including how proceeds were to be spent, …