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Determinants of dual-class initial public offerings: Evidence of a post-2014 structural shift
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Bruno Fiesenig 
, Louis Schirra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
This paper investigates the determinants of dual-class share initial public offerings (IPOs) in the United States (U.S.), with a focus on how these drivers have changed over time. By dividing the sample into two periods, before and after 2014, we find a structural shift in the firm characteristics associated with dual-class IPOs. Logistic regression results show that, while many traditional predictors remain stable or insignificant across periods, the technology sector emerges as a key driver in the post-2014 sample, with a strong and statistically significant positive effect on the likelihood of adopting a dual-class structure. This contrasts with the pre-2015 period, in which technology affiliation showed no such influence. Venture capital backing does not appear to play a significant role in either period. Our findings suggest that since 2014, the dual-class IPO landscape has evolved in response to changing market dynamics, particularly reflecting the rise of high-growth technology firms and shifting norms around control and governance at the time of going public. These insights contribute to the ongoing discussion around dual-class structures and their implications for capital market development.
Keywords: Dual-Class Shares, Initial Public Offerings (IPOs), Corporate Governance, Ownership Structure
Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — B.F.; Methodology — B.F. and L.S.; Software — L.S.; Formal Analysis — L.S.; Data Curation — L.S.; Writing — Original Draft — B.F. and L.S.; Writing — Review & Editing — B.F. and L.S.; Supervision — B.F.
Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
JEL Classification: G30, G32
Received: 10.06.2025
Revised: 18.08.2025; 26.08.2025
Accepted: 29.08.2025
Published online: 02.09.2025
How to cite this paper: Fiesenig, B., & Schirra, L. (2025). Determinants of dual-class initial public offerings: Evidence of a post-2014 structural shift. Corporate Ownership & Control, 22(3), 62–72. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv22i3art5
