Abstract This paper examines the post-divestiture behavior of spun-off firms. Drawing on the spin-off literature and middle-status conformity theory, we argue that spun-off firms—as newly independent and publicly traded firms—tend to limit their risk-taking behavior to match the expectations of a crucial audience, i.e., security analysts. Following the logic of middle-status conformity theory, we hypothesize that firms with mid-level status are particularly susceptible to analysts' pressures, whereas high- and low-status firms are free to take greater risks. Crucially, however, we propose that this relationship is less pronounced for spun-off firms that are more attached to their parent firms, as formal and informal linkages between these two types of firms can endure beyond the separation and limit spun-off firms' independence. Using a dataset of 102 spin-off transactions occurring between 1995 and 2010, we find empirical support for a U-shaped relationship between spun-off firms' status and risk-taking. This relationship is attenuated when spun-off firms are more attached to their parents. We contribute to the spin-off literature by demonstrating that a spun-off firm's post-divestiture behavior is determined by the capital market audience's expectations and the attachment to the parent firm. In so doing, we also contribute to the literature on middle-status conformity theory by identifying a boundary condition of the theory. Additionally, we make a methodological contribution by combining ideas from the spin-off and institutional theory literature to develop a particularly comprehensive measure of attachment.

中文翻译：

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独立的错觉：分立公司的风险承担是地位和对母公司依恋的函数

摘要 本文考察了分立公司的剥离后行为。借鉴分拆文献和中等状态从众理论，我们认为分拆公司——作为新独立和公开交易的公司——倾向于限制他们的冒险行为以符合关键受众的期望，即安全分析师。按照中等地位从众理论的逻辑，我们假设中等地位的公司特别容易受到分析师的压力，而高地位和低地位的公司可以自由地承担更大的风险。然而，至关重要的是，我们认为这种关系对于更依附于母公司的分立公司而言不那么明显，因为这两种类型的公司之间的正式和非正式联系可以超越分离并限制分立公司的独立性. 使用 1995 年至 2010 年间发生的 102 笔分立交易的数据集，我们发现了对分立公司地位与风险承担之间 U 型关系的实证支持。当分立的公司更依附于其母公司时，这种关系会减弱。我们通过证明分立公司的剥离后行为取决于资本市场受众的期望和对母公司的依恋来为分拆文献做出贡献。在这样做的过程中，我们还通过确定理论的边界条件来为有关中等状态从众理论的文献做出贡献。此外，我们通过结合衍生产品和制度理论文献中的思想来开发一种特别全面的依恋测量方法，从而做出了方法论上的贡献。