Newswise — From its significance for global markets to its potential impact on our daily lives, two leading Cornell University researchers reflect on Facebook’s record-setting initial public offering this week. Both welcome media interviews.
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A milestone event, and wake-up call for U.S. markets
Andrew Karolyi is a professor of finance at Cornell’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management and an internationally known scholar in the area of investment management. Faculty co-director of Johnson’s Emerging Markets Institute, he is an author of the September 2011 paper, “The US left behind? The rise of IPO activity around the world.” He says:
“Facebook is about to pull off a record-setting IPO. The listing is obviously a milestone for the company, its employees, Mark Zuckerberg and its current and prospective investors, and highlights the supersonic growth of social media.
“But it is also a milestone event for NASDAQ and U.S. public equity markets; so much so that it serves as a reminder of how much ground has been lost to other competing markets around the world for promoting IPO activity. Congress passing the JOBS Act last month was a useful opening gambit toward making public equity markets in the U.S. more vibrant, but so much more needs to be done.
“What we really need to do is figure out the best way to attract the Facebook-like firms popping up all around the world to go public in U.S. markets.”
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No cause for panic – Facebook will stay true to its vision
Jeff Hancock is a professor of communication and of computer and information science. A frequent social media analyst on CBS This Morning and co-author of the landmark study on honesty in hotel reviews, Hancock’s research focuses on how we communicate through new media and how those new connections change the way we live. He says:
“While there are some grumblings that the Facebook user experience will most likely change after Friday's initial public offering, I feel that there are two main reasons why the IPO won't change a thing.
“First, people already understand Facebook is a for-profit company that’s using social networking information to generate revenue. And second, Facebook leadership, from Mark Zuckerberg on down, has been very resistant to forces that try to modify the site in a way that isn’t part of their vision – which is to keep it growing and make it a part of people's lives as much as possible.”
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