We introduce a logic for temporal beliefs and intentions based on Shoham’s database perspective and we formalize his coherence conditions on beliefs and intentions. In order to do this we separate strong beliefs from weak beliefs. Strong beliefs are independent from intentions, while weak beliefs are obtained by adding intentions to strong beliefs and everything that follows from that. We provi...

We consider optimal pricing policies for airlines when passengers are uncertain at the time of ticketing of their eventual willingness to pay for air travel. Auctions at the time of departure efficiently allocate space and a profit maximizing airline can capitalize on these gains by overbooking flights and repurchasing excess tickets from those passengers whose realized value is low. Neverthele...

We examine the relation between institutional holdings and payout policy in U.S. public firms between 1980 and 1996. We find that payout policy affects institutional holdings. Institutions avoid firms that do not pay any dividends. But among dividend paying firms, they prefer firms that pay fewer dividends. Our evidence indicates that institutions prefer firms that repurchase shares, and regula...

This paper reviews the applications of auction theory to corporate finance. It starts with a review of the main auction theory frameworks and the major results. It then goes on to discuss how auction theory can be applied, in the context of the market for corporate control, not only to “inform” a company’s board or regulators, but also to understand some of the observed empirical evidence on ta...

This article examines founding family influence on pay-out policies for Swiss listed firms over the period 2003-2010. We find that founding family firms have higher dividends and total pay-outs than non-family firms. There is no significant difference between stock repurchases for the two types of firms. We show that specific firm characteristics such as active involvement of family members, th...

We study the causal effect of labor unions on corporate payout policy by using a regression discontinuity (RD) design. Passing a union election leads to an 8.7% lower dividend ratio and a 17.9% lower total payout ratio (including both dividends and share repurchases) than failing an election in the following year. The negative effect of unions on payout is absent in firms located in states with...

The increasing importance of entrepreneurship for flourishing economic progression, innovation and job creation have raised the concerns of decision makers and researchers for the investigation of the dynamics that could have an influence on the entrepreneurial activity levels. Indeed, transformations in entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity levels are considerable, persistent and disti...

When and why do people advocate on behalf of their attitudes? Past research suggests that attitude certainty is one important determinant. The current research seeks to provide more nuanced insight into this relationship by (a) exploring the unique roles of attitude clarity and attitude correctness, and (b) mapping clarity and correctness onto different forms of advocacy (sharing intentions and...

Implementation intentions have the potential to break unwanted habits and help individuals behave in line with their goal intentions. We tested the effects of implementation intentions in the context of drivers' speeding behavior. A randomized controlled design was used. Speeding behavior, goal intentions and theoretically derived motivational pre-cursors of goal intentions were measured at bot...