The impact of Intellectual capital on French technology firms survival

Yosra BEJAR*

ABSTARCT.

This paper investigates the determinants of survival for French high technology firms that have gone public at the Euronext stock exchange from 1996 through 2004. Conducting survival analyses using logit regressions, Kaplan Meier and Cox methodologies, the current research proves that the intellectual capital quality improves the survival profiles of IPO firms. This quality capital seems more useful to predict the survival or failure of French high technology firms compared to classic explanatory variables of the literature.

KEYS WORDS: Survival analysis, IPO, intellectual capital, High technology firms. JEL CLASSIFICATIONS:G33, C34

* Lecturer at Institut Telecom /TELECOM & Management sudParis/ Associate Resercher at DRM-CEREG (UMR 7088); Paris Dauphine University. Corresponding: TELECOM & Management sudParis ; 9 Rue Charles Fourier ; 91011 Evry Cedex ; Yosra.Bejar@it-sudparis.eu.

1. Introduction
In recent years, a big evolution of investors’ needs in financial information was recorded. Recent reports (AICPA 1994; FASB 2001; SFAF & EURONEXT 2002…) and recommendations in academic and theoretical literature (Beattie & Pratt, 2002a, 2002b; Eccles & Mavrinac, 1995; Eccles et al. 2001a; Lev, 2001; Holland, 1997…) have argued that demand for external communication or information on knowledge-based resources is growing as companies increasingly base the value of their company on know-how, patents, skilled employees, customers… and other intangibles. The importance of such communication on initial public offering prospectuses was underlined. Buck & al (2003) argue that firms desiring access to capital markets take particularly care of its prospectus to answer the investors’ expectations. Moreover, Jenkinson & Ljungquist (2001) underline the multiplication of organized meeting, between investment banks and potential investors, trying to account for investors’