DECIDING TO IMPLEMENT AN IPO: THEORY AND PRACTICE IN THE POLISH CAPITAL MARKET

The objective of this article is to compare the theoretical approaches to decisions about IPO-oriented corporate financing with the results of the empirical research conducted in the Polish capital market, which can be described as the most developed in the Central and East European region. Achieving the research objective required, firstly, to collect and analyze secondary data represented by the results of theoretical and empirical research done to define the factors involved in the IPO-related managerial decisions. The second step involved a collection of primary data by a questionnaire-based survey in companies that have completed an IPO in the Polish capital market. The collected data was processed using statistical methods appropriate for its type and quantity. In the third step, the attitudes of the managers in the issuing companies were compared with the theoretical models described in literature. The empirical results suggest that the theoretical models of the IPO process are fully applicable in the conditions of the Polish capital market. However, the respondents viewpoints indicate that there is a need to articulate additional precepts that would complement and expand the existing theoretical models. The results of this comparison represent a valid contribution to the present knowledge of corporate financing strategies.