Jani Saastamoinen

Chasing losses in online poker and casino games: Characteristics and game play of Internet gamblers at risk of disordered gambling

Disordered Internet gambling is a psychological disorder that represents an important public health issue due to the increase in highly available and conveniently accessible Internet gambling sites. Chasing losses is one of the few observable markers of at-risk and problem gambling that may be used to detect early signs of disordered Internet gambling. This study examined loss chasing behaviour in a sample of Internet casino and poker players and the socio-demographic variables, irrational beliefs, and gambling behaviours associated with chasing losses. An online survey was completed by 10,838 Internet gamblers (58% male) from 96 countries. The results showed that Internet casino players had a greater tendency to report chasing losses than poker players and gamblers who reported chasing losses were more likely to hold irrational beliefs about gambling and spend more time and money gambling than those who reported that they were unaffected by previous losses. Gamblers who played for excitement and to win money were more likely to report chasing losses. This study is one of the largest ever studies of Internet gamblers and the results are highly significant as they provide insight into the characteristics and behaviours of gamblers using this mode of access.

SMEs and public sector procurement: Does entrepreneurial orientation make a difference?

This article illustrates how the proactivity/innovativeness dimension of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) influences how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) search for information on public sector tender opportunities and their subsequent bidding activity. From an analysis of the contemporary literature and our findings, we demonstrate how successful SME participation in public procurement can be encouraged and increased.

How Do Prior Gains and Losses Affect Subsequent Risk Taking? New Evidence from Individual-Level Horse Race Bets

Many empirical studies focusing on how prior outcomes affect subsequent risk taking report conclusions that appear mutually contradictory. While some studies document increased risk taking after gains and risk aversion after losses, others report the opposite. This paper contributes to this literature by investigating horse race bettors’ sequential risky decisions using individual-level data. A horse race betting market is a laboratory-like environment and can be used to analyze behavioral patterns associated with decision making under risk. We find evidence for (i) the “house money effect” as bettors take riskier wagers after gains and mostly spend the money they have won; (ii) risk aversion after prior losses, which we label a “playing safe effect”; and (iii) a preference for breakeven. Contrary to the widely held conception in the empirical literature, our findings suggest that the “break-even effect” does not necessarily imply an increased preference for riskier bets because bettors may seek to break ...

Management discretion and the role of the stock market in goodwill impairment decisions - evidence from Finland

IAS 36 provides latitude to management in the impairment testing of goodwill assets, which may intensify agency conflict. In this study, we carry out an empirical analysis on goodwill impairment losses recognised by Finnish listed companies between 2005 and 2009. We document evidence that a change of CEO is associated with a goodwill write-off. Further, our results indicate that the size of a goodwill impairment loss is larger when the companys reported earnings would have been negative in the absence of the impairment charge, which points towards behaviour associated with earnings bath. However, we also report evidence that the monitoring function of the stock market may reduce asymmetric information concerning the carrying value of goodwill. These results suggest that regulators could benefit from focusing on monitoring compliance with the current goodwill accounting standards in firms which exhibit high levels of information asymmetry between investors and management.

Competition in Online Comparison Shopping Services

Retail markets in online comparison shopping websites are extremely competitive, yet firms voluntarily list in these services. The objective of this paper is to study competition and seller profitability in comparison shopping markets. In the proposed model, two profit-maximizing sellers sell a homogeneous good to Bayesian risk-neutral buyers. Buyers use a reputation system to update their beliefs about the sellers and purchase from the seller that maximizes the buyer’s expected surplus. The model shows that a seller’s profit depends on the distribution of buyer beliefs. A good reputation increases a seller’s profits. Empirical testing is carried out using data from Pricegrabber, a popular comparison shopping website. The evidence indicates that a good reputation may support price premiums as the model suggests.

Does collaboration with public and private sector actors in public procurement of innovations improve SME competitiveness

The merits of public procurement of innovations (PPI) as a demand-side innovation policy instrument have been identified in both political and academic discussion. In particular, the involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in PPI could be a valuable tool in promoting SME innovations. As such, PPI could play an important role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in which interdependent actors collaborate. However, the impact of collaboration among entrepreneurial ecosystem actors in the context of PPI on SMEs’ competitiveness lacks empirical assessment. This chapter addresses this gap in the literature with a survey of Finnish SMEs. We propose a construct for SMEs’ improved competitiveness which can be attributed to involvement in public procurement. A statistical analysis applying a path model suggests that after controlling for firm size and age, innovativeness and industry, collaborating with the public sector customer in developing new products/services, improving production processes and making improvements to existing products/services in response to the public sector customer’s demand is associated with improved competitiveness. As a managerial implication, the results suggest that PPI has merits in promoting the competitiveness of SMEs through innovations.

Market orientation and smesʼ activity in public sector procurement participation

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been found to be under-represented in the awarding of public sector procurement contracts. Currently, very little is known about the strategic and behavioral aspects associated with SMEsʼ participation in public sector procurement. To take a step in filling the gap, we used a conceptual construct known as market orientation (MO). The construct comprises a firmʼs orientation in gathering information on competitors and customers, and using the information to gain competitive advantage. This research found that MO has a positive effect on how active SMEs are in searching information on available requests for tenders and how actively they participate in bidding contests. This work strongly suggests that MO should be taken into account when designing procurement contracts, and MO should be fostered among SMEs.

Firm Growth and Reputation Effects in Online Retail Markets: Short Run and Long Run Evidence

Electronic commerce has become an important platform for business-to-consumer retailing. However, there is very little research of firm growth and dynamic effects of reputation in electronic markets. Using data from Pricegrabber, this paper studies firm growth in light of Gibrat’s Law and reputation effects in the short run and in the long run. Our key finding is that Gibrat’s Law holds in the short run, but small firms grow faster than large firms in the long run. We find also that sellers benefit from good reputations in the short run, but positive reputation effects are muted in the long run.