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1 – 5 of 5Simona Cosma, Stefano Cosma and Alessandro M. Peluso
The purpose of this paper is to highlight opportunities for the banking sector arising from the population’s aging and the expected reduction in pension incomes. Home equity…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight opportunities for the banking sector arising from the population’s aging and the expected reduction in pension incomes. Home equity conversion (HEC) instruments are a potentially useful way of restoring households’ finances and satisfying their needs, with implications for the demand for financial services.
Design/methodology/approach
By using an ordered probit regression model, the paper analyzes data obtained from a survey of 2,000 Italian households.
Findings
The main finding of this paper is that individuals with greater familiarity with consumer credit, a cognitive and decision-making approach favorable to use of credit, and an internal locus of control show greater interest in various forms of equity conversion.
Originality/value
This paper extends the analysis of the determinants of individuals’ interest in HEC products. It focuses more closely than the existing literature on households’ credit behaviors, attitudes toward credit and locus of control. The paper helps identify the potential targets of marketing campaigns and commercial proposals, and highlights the levers that the banks can focus on in communicating with customers and future prospects. Moreover, this paper suggests that there is a need to develop greater awareness on the part of people who could be interested in these products. Therefore, appropriate financial education projects should be implemented to develop a better “credit” culture, with due appreciation of the usefulness of credit as a means of supporting household budgets.
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Stefano Cosma, Alessandro Giovanni Grasso, Francesco Pattarin and Alessia Pedrazzoli
A network of partners helps and assists a crowdfunding platform (CFP) in scouting, assessing and selecting projects. This cooperation increases the number of successful projects…
Abstract
Purpose
A network of partners helps and assists a crowdfunding platform (CFP) in scouting, assessing and selecting projects. This cooperation increases the number of successful projects by attracting a sizable number of investors, proponents and attracting marginal investors when a campaign falls short of the threshold for success. This study examines the role of partner networks in a platform ecosystem, specifically in terms of number of different partners and their diversity in the performance of the crowdfunding campaign.
Design/methodology/approach
Using logistic and linear regressions, we analyze a sample of 233 projects, both funded and not funded, launched by 10 Italian equity CFPs between 2014 and 2018.
Findings
Our findings indicate that the variety of partners in a platform's network influence the probability of campaign success and how much capital the proponent company raises. CFPs are resource-constrained new ventures, and a network with a wider variety of partners ensures the strategic resources and competencies that are required in an early stage market, thus facilitating campaign funding.
Practical implications
The variety of partner networks could help CFPs to offer unique and strategic value propositions and define the competitive positioning of platforms.
Originality/value
This study provides a deeper understanding of the determinants of equity crowdfunding campaign performance by emphasizing the role of CFP's network of partners on the entire crowdfunding ecosystem and its underlying organizational elements.
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Stefano Cosma and Daniela Pennetta
This work aims to explore the effects of (equity and non-equity) strategic alliances between banks and FinTechs on FinTechs' online visibility.
Abstract
Purpose
This work aims to explore the effects of (equity and non-equity) strategic alliances between banks and FinTechs on FinTechs' online visibility.
Design/methodology/approach
For a sample of 124 Italian FinTechs, the authors measured online visibility through their website ranking (Google PageRank) and website traffic (Google Trends). Consistent to the historical depth of these measures, the authors separately investigated the effect of equity and non-equity (contractual) agreements on online visibility by means of ordinal logistic regressions and diff-in-diff analysis.
Findings
Strategic alliances with banks enhance FinTechs' online visibility. Although both equity and contractual agreements positively influence the popularity of FinTechs' website achieved through the activity of internal and external online content creators (websites ranking), only equity agreements are effective in attracting Internet users (website traffic).
Practical implications
When deciding to interact with banks, FinTechs' managers should consider that equity agreements may be a powerful strategic choice for enlarging the customer base and boosting visibility of FinTechs.
Social implications
Fostering strategic alliances between banks and FinTechs contributes to FinTechs' growth, generating virtuous mechanisms of innovation, financial inclusion and better allocative efficiency of the financial system.
Originality/value
This work expands marketing knowledge and literature regarding online visibility determinants, by investigating the benefits of strategic alliances and cooperation in the market, while providing an empirical strategy replicable by future marketing studies.
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Francesco Pattarin and Stefano Cosma
Consumer credit as a proportion of household debt has grown considerably during the last 20 years across many developed countries. A fairly extensive literature from the field of…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumer credit as a proportion of household debt has grown considerably during the last 20 years across many developed countries. A fairly extensive literature from the field of empirical psychology has provided evidence that personality factors and attitudes may influence individuals’ debt financing decisions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the importance of attitude to credit and three main research questions are addressed. Is there any relationship between attitude and use of consumer credit? Are there any differences between the attitudes of credit users and non‐users that can be associated with motivations for using consumer credit? Does attitude towards credit affect preferences for the financing of consumption?
Design/methodology/approach
The authors provide answers based on the results of an original survey of the use of consumer credit conducted on a wide sample of Italian households, which allowed the authors to asses the respondents’ attitudes towards credit and to examine them with respect to credit decisions, controlling for several socio‐economic variables.
Findings
The findings indicate that the influence of attitude on consumer credit decisions cannot be ruled out. Attitude toward credit appears to play an important role and is significantly related to motivations for using credit and to the method of choice for financing consumption.
Originality/value
This study improves on most existing research on these topics in the particularly large size and scope of the sample, and also because several studies from the psychological field lack a thorough assessment of household economic conditions and expectations.
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Gulnur Muradoglu and Nigel Harvey
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue of Review of Behavioural Finance entitled “Behavioural finance: the role of psychological factors in financial…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue of Review of Behavioural Finance entitled “Behavioural finance: the role of psychological factors in financial decisions”.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors present a brief outline of the origins of behavioural economics; discuss the role that experimental and survey methods play in the study of financial behaviour; summarise the contributions made by the papers in the issue and consider their implications; and assess why research in behavioural finance is important for finance researchers and practitioners.
Findings
The primary input to behavioural finance has been from experimental psychology. Methods developed within sociology such as surveys, interviews, participant observation, focus groups have not had the same degree of influence. Typically, these methods are even more expensive than experimental ones and so costs of using them may be one reason for their lack of impact. However, it is also possible that the training of finance academics leads them to prefer methodologies that permit greater control and a clearer causal interpretation.
Originality/value
The paper shows that interdisciplinary research is becoming more widespread and it is likely that greater collaboration between finance and sociology will develop in the future.
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