From liability to asset: A receiver’s perspective on eponymy signals and market value
从接收者视角出发，基于信号理论探讨同名信号如何影响创业企业的市场价值，发现企业年龄是关键调节因素：早期同名降低价值，但超过44年后转为资产并增加价值。
Drawing on signaling theory and literatures from eponymy and branding, we take a receiver’s perspective to explicate how signaling eponymy impacts venture market value at harvest. To untangle the mixed findings on the effects of eponymy, we take a contingency approach and theorize that firm age plays a key role in how the eponymy signal will be perceived by valuators. Employing a novel dataset of 471 acquired private firms, our analysis reveals that while the market value of eponymous firms declines early in the life cycle, past a threshold their value begins to increase. This suggests that at that point, eponymy becomes an asset and adds value to the firm. We establish this nadir at a firm age of 44.