Pierpaolo Pattitoni

Determinants of Profitability in the EU-15 Area

Using data on private firms in the EU-15 area over the period 2004–2011, we investigate the determinants of firm profitability. We extend existing models by considering possible nonlinear effects of typical micro-level determinants as well as the effect of additional micro-level and macro-level variables. Our findings – obtained using a plethora of econometric static and dynamic models – show that nonlinearities help explain the existence of conflicting theories of determinants of profitability (omitting second-order effects may result in inconsistent estimates) and shed light on the role of the firm’s opportunity cost of capital, the majority shareholder commitment level and variables which reflect the economic cycle in explaining firm profitability.

Pricing Visitor Preferences for Temporary Art Exhibitions

This paper focuses on the initiatives that museum managers may implement to maximize the profits of museums located in tourist destinations and that host temporary art exhibitions. These initiatives have direct effects on visitor demand and indirect effects on the tourist destination. Classifying visitors into residents, excursionists and tourists, the authors evaluate their preferences and willingness to pay for managerial initiatives. They focus specifically on for-profit museums that host temporary exhibitions in medium and small tourist destinations. Visitor preferences are priced through discrete choice experiments submitted to a sample of (actual and potential) visitors to Castel Sismondo Museum in Rimini, Italy.

NAV discount in REITs: the role of expert assessors

Using a unique hand-collected data set that comprises the 2009 balance sheets of all Italian listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), we test whether Net Asset Value (NAV) discount can be explained by expert assessor overestimations. Our results suggest that expert assessors make conservative assessments of NAV values; thus, they are not responsible for NAV discounts. Furthermore, using the balance sheet disaggregated data of each REIT, we cluster properties by region and intended use and find that certain regions and types of properties are more discount-prone than others.

Abnormal Returns of Soccer Teams: Reassessing the Informational Value of Betting Odds

We analyze the links between soccer match results, betting odds, and stock returns of all listed European soccer teams. Using an event-study approach, we measure positive (negative) abnormal returns following wins (ties and losses). Additionally, we analyze the role, which we find to be nonsignificant, of betting odds in shaping market reactions to unexpected results. We propose an alternative econometric approach, using seemingly unrelated regressions models, to take into account the problem of overlapping events. Abnormal returns following unexpected results are then found to be statistically significant and to magnify the positive (negative) effects of wins (losses).

Individual investor behaviour: evidence from the clients of a small credit cooperative bank

Individual characteristics are important in explaining investor trading behaviour. The clients of a small cooperative bank are analysed over the three-year period 2005-2007 to measure the effect that age, gender, income, job position and status of online trader has on the number of stock trades completed. A negative binomial regression is used since our dependent variable, the number of trades, can only assume non-negative discrete values. This paper shows that the number of transactions increases if the client is: man vs. women; self-employed vs. employee, retiree or housewife; online vs. traditional trader; higher vs. low income. Our findings are not clear cut with respect to age. In conclusion, individual characteristics are important in explaining an individuals trading behaviour since they affect an investors attitude towards risk and overconfidence.

Insider Trading and Blackout Periods: Evidence from Italy

Using a unique hand-collected data set, we investigate the effectiveness of internal dealing regulation and self-imposed blackout periods on companies in Italy. While insiders comply with the internal dealing regulation in reporting their transactions, managers are still able to realize abnormal returns from their trades. We find that company self-imposed blackout periods are often violated as insiders continue trading around corporate events, to the point that managers realize their most profitable trades specifically during these periods.

Fostering Female Entrepreneurship in Academic Spin-Offs

We aim at analyzing female participation in Italian academic spin-offs using publically available data and a unique hand-collected database of all academic spin-offs set up in Italy from 2002 to 2007. We base our study on three complementary levels of analysis: macro, meso, and micro level. We show that the gender gap in academic spin-offs is relevant and that a certain degree of spatial heterogeneity—possibly reflecting cultural and environmental differences between Italian provinces—exists. Furthermore, our findings show a disadvantage of females in the startup funding phase: an unfavorable circumstance that reduces their chances of success and force them to create new businesses mainly in the service sector. Social relationships and empathy among females may help compensate their disadvantages and break down barriers to entrepreneurship.

Market Reaction to Second-Hand News: Inside the Attention Grabbing Hypothesis

This paper deals with a long-standing issue in finance: whether the market reaction to second-hand information is caused by price pressure or by dissemination. We use the perspective of attention grabbing as a particular form of price pressure to analyze the market reaction to the dissemination of analysts’ recommendations through the press. This perspective allows the prediction of an asymmetric market reaction to “buy” and “sell” advice, which has previously been detected in a few other empirical studies but is otherwise difficult to rationalize within the standard price pressure hypothesis. In particular, we analyze the content of a weekly column in the most important Italian financial newspaper that presents past information and analysts’ recommendations on listed companies. In doing so, we find an asymmetric price and volume reaction. Contrary to previous evidence, we document a positive relation between the number of analysts quoted in the column and the price (volume) increase associated with positive recommendations. Because the weekly columns simply attract the attention of investors with no additional new information, it is natural to observe a greater reaction for the most “glamorous” stocks (i.e., the stocks most commonly followed by analysts).This paper investigates whether the market reaction to second-hand information is due to price pressure or information dissemination. We use the perspective of attention grabbing to analyze the market reaction to the dissemination of analysts’ recommendations published in print media. This perspective is able to explain the asymmetric market reaction to “buy�? and “sell�? advice, which is difficult to rationalize within the price pressure hypothesis. We base our empirical analysis on the content of a weekly column in the most important Italian financial newspaper which publishes past information and analysts’ recommendations on listed companies. Our findings show asymmetric price and volume reactions on the publication day. Contrary to previous evidence, we document a positive relationship between the number of analysts quoted in the column and the price (volume) increase associated with positive recommendations. Because the weekly columns seem to simply attract investors’ attention, with no additional new information, observing a reaction positively related to the column’s salience (proxied by the number of quoted analysts) is natural. In addition, we find that the market reaction is higher when the order size is lower, i.e., when individual investors’ trades constitute a higher fraction of the total trading activity in the market.

Event Clustering and Abnormal Returns: Reassessing the Informational Value of Bets

We analyse the links between soccer match results, bets and stock returns of all listed European soccer teams. Using an event study approach, we measure abnormal returns following wins, ties and losses. Wins are associated with positive abnormal returns, and ties and losses with negative abnormal returns. Additionally, we analyse the role of bets in shaping market reactions to unexpected results, which we find to be non-significant. We propose an alternative econometric approach, using seemingly unrelated regression models, to take into account the problem of overlapping events. While our results concerning match results are confirmed, abnormal returns following unexpected results are found to be statistically significant and to magnify the positive (negative) effects of wins (losses).

Cognitive Biases and Entrepreneurial Under-Diversification

Cognitive biases lead entrepreneurs to overinvest in their own companies, over exposing themselves to idiosyncratic risk. Our novel theoretical model explains entrepreneurial under-diversification by measuring the amount of potential bias in entrepreneurs’ portfolio allocations brought about by overconfidence and over optimism. Simulation analyses based on our model allow us calculating the implicit levels of overconfidence and over optimism from observable portfolio choices. Finally, using a unique dataset including cross-regional data on Italian entrepreneurs and a structural equation modeling approach, we test the effect of overconfidence and over optimism on entrepreneurs’ portfolio allocations. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, we find a positive relationship between overconfidence and entrepreneur investments in their own companies. On the other hand, the role of over optimism seems to be negligible.