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The present study aimed to examine children's and adults' performance and strategies in volume estimations. Three tasks were designed and presented to 40 adults and 40 6th grade children who were asked to estimate: (a) the number of unit measures (bricks/rice spoons) that may be put in a container, (b) the quantity of bricks/rice, between two different quantities of bricks/rice, that could fit in a container, and (c) the container, between two containers, that may hold a quantity given. Participants were – randomly and in equal numbers from each age group – assigned to four groups differing in their opportunity for trial condition and the presence of the half reference point in the containers. Although the majority of participants showed quite low performance rates in estimating volume, their estimations were more successful when the trial condition was available to them as well as when the trials referred to small containers and discrete quantities. The mental counting strategy was mainly used by both age groups. Adults, however, often used the algorithm and processed precise volume measurement. These results are further discussed in relation to educational implications as well as to the perspective of early supporting children's abilities for estimations at the primary school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid increase in sport sponsorship expenditure has been accompanied by a significant growth of research studies evaluating sponsorship efficiency in various sport contexts. Nevertheless, the majority of research studies have concentrated on the comprehension of the variables driving to behaviors. A more precise evaluation of sport sponsorship efficiency is of necessity, taking into attitudinal as well as behavioral constructs. This study focused on the exploration of the attitudinal and behavioral constructs in the context of sport sponsorship. More precisely, the aim of this research is to offer some elucidations of the effect of fans' involvement with sport, the degree of their attachment with their favorite team, their beliefs about sponsorship and the anticipated sincerity of the sponsors on the awareness of and attitude toward real sponsoring firms, as well as its subsequent influence on future purchase intentions concerning sponsoring firms' merchandise. Data from 2,752 fans were successfully gathered and analyzed utilizing structural equation modeling analysis. The results of a structural equation model provide an exceptional conceptual framework that underlines the significance of comprehending the role of important factors in sponsorship efficiency. The findings highlight the influential role of the examined factors in guiding sport clubs' supporters to form favorable attitudes and purchase sponsors' goods and services — an outcome of considerable significance for both the practitioners and academics in the field. Various implications for future research studies as well as strategies to boost the advantages for both the sport clubs and sponsoring firms can be drawn from the suggested model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: In this study we empirically test the following hypotheses regarding the impact of financial fair play (FFP) on Italian first-division clubs: 1) FFP works as a governance mechanism moderating the relation between internal governance mechanisms and wage expenditures, 2) FFP is altering the relative importance of player expenditures as drivers of sporting performance, and 3) FFP is shifting the business model of Italian clubs leading to a more efficient decision-making on player transfers. Research methods: Using 165 club-year observations from 2007 to 2017, we jointly model the determinants of wage expenditures, sporting results and financial performance via a simultaneous equation approach. The impact of FFP is estimated by interacting a dummy variable for FFP with the key explanatory variables of each model. Results and findings: Empirical results show that FFP has 1) a negative effect on the relation between wages and sporting results, 2) a positive effect on the relation between net transfer fees and sporting results, and 3) a positive effect on the relation between gains on player trading and financial performance. Implications: Overall results suggest that FFP is altering the business model of Italian clubs from an investment-focused (wage spending) to a more efficiency-driven one that is geared to make gains from player trading. Accordingly, club managers should commit to creating sustainable cycles of player transfers in order to thrive under the new regulatory environment. As for regulators, this study supports the notion that FFP restores efficient managerial incentives in football businesses, reinforcing the case for a full implementation of the regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation and Research and Development (R&D) investments have been considered in the literature as a significant determinant of corporate development and sustainability. Previous studies have examined the impact of intangibles on financial performance but not extensively within economic environments of intense financial turmoil. The scope of this study is to shed further light on this issue and examine whether R&D investments had an impact on the profitability of Greek firms especially during the sovereign debt crisis. We collected a sample of Greek corporations that have capitalized their R&D investments and paid significant amounts on R&D expenses during the period 2003–2016. Panel regression results indicated that R&D investments and R&D expenses had a negative impact on the profitability of sample firms before the crisis, but during the crisis (2011–2016) firms which managed to sustain or enhance their level of R&D investments achieved to improve their profitability. These findings corroborate our hypotheses that during a period of limited lending and hearse financial turmoil, R&D investments could be a vital tool for sustaining firms' financial performance. The study offers useful implications for managers and regulators, and contributes to the ongoing debate about the impact of R&D investments on corporate performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to examine sport sponsorship's effectiveness over the internet. A conceptual framework for sponsorship evaluation over the internet was proposed, incorporating crucial factors such as supporters' beliefs about sponsorship, their satisfaction form the sport event as well as their degree of sport involvement, the usage of website and social media, awareness of and attitude toward real sponsoring firms and their actual and future purchase intentions concerning sponsors' goods and services. A quantitative method was used for the purpose of the current research and a total of 3434 questionnaires were successfully completed and analyzed. The empirical results indicated that sponsorship awareness impacts positively and significantly in both actual and intended purchase behavior of the respondents, suggesting that sponsorship awareness is the initial stage of a continuum of fans' responses that can lead to their purchase intentions and actual purchase. Evidence on this study contributes to the ongoing debate about sponsorship effectiveness and its implication on customer behavior and provides significant implications for managers wishing to improve their future revenues by investing in sponsorship deals, since sponsorship awareness is an important feature that managers must control in order to affect their customers purchasing decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present research is to suggest a theoretical framework of sport marketing research with a focal point on sport participation in semi-marathon events. There are clear benefits of an active lifestyle and people are increasingly engaged in recreational sports activity and participation in recreational sports events. In this study the motivation for such participation is explored drawing on empirical evidence from a semi-marathon running event. Elements were obtained from a semi-marathon and a quantitative questionnaire was utilised for the data collection. The total number of questionnaires successfully gathered was 268, which were then analysed using SPSS. Results indicate that intention for recurring participation is positively related to perceived benefits in mental and physical health, attachment with running, socialising opportunities, attractiveness of the respective running event and the destination's elements of the semi-marathon event. Significant differences in the motivation between male and female runners were also identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Panagiotis E. Dimitropoulos, Dimitrios Asteriou This paper aims at examining the impact of earnings and cash flows relevance on stock return movements within the Greek capital market from 1996 to 2004. Results indicated that earnings have higher incremental importance in explaining stock return movements compared with cash flows as earnings have been found to affect stock returns positively. Additionally, tests on the incremental informativeness of cash flows when earnings are transitory did provide significant results suggesting that investors seek for alternative measures of firms' performance when earnings are characterised by increased extremity. Moreover, cash flows and earnings seem to be equally value relevant when investors evaluate big-sized firms but on the contrary, cash flows are highly valued for firms with increased growth opportunities. Finally, the empirical findings with respect to the effect of leverage on the informational content of earnings and cash flows, provides support to the hypothesis that earnings become less value relevant for high leveraged firms.

The scope of this study was to examine the determinant factors of young football players' market values and whether the migration constitutes a significant variable which enhances player's annual valuation. A database of all young migrant and local athletes that participated in the professional Greek football championship over the period 2008-2013 was utilized. Descriptive evidence revealed that migrant athletes had higher annual market values and were given higher participation chances compared to local football players. Instrumental variable regression analyses revealed that football match appearances were more significant determinants of market value for native athletes relative to migrant athletes. This effect was more intense for the native athletes who were utilized less by their coaches in terms of actual minutes of participation in official games. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The value of sponsorship has been constantly proved not only by the large theoretical volume produced in the area but also the increasing number of companies investing in this promotional activity. 'Associations' built around the brand's image as created by the sponsored activity have been considered to be clear, certain and positive. However, there is a great lack of studies suggesting evidence that sponsorship's beneficial outcome is contributing to enhanced revenues and profitability for the companies vividly counting on its power. This lack of measureable results in terms of financial returns is attempted to be filled with the present study. The results presented here constitute an effort to provide interested parts insights into possible generation of revenue, or better indicators suggesting a relation between sponsorship awareness and profit levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: European football clubs are known for an institutionalized management culture which prioritizes on-field success over financial performance. This creates an extremely competitive context within which most clubs operate, producing debts and deficits. However, in order to secure clubs' long-term financial viability, Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has introduced regulatory and monitoring processes tied to accounting data in order to assess clubs' financial performance. This study aims to determine whether UEFA's framework has an impact on clubs' management policies with regard to accounting quality. Research methods: The study employs a sample of 109 European football clubs for a seven-year period, 2008-2014 (three years before and four years after the regulatory intervention), to investigate the impact of the reform upon management practices related to accounting. Following prior literature, we employ the three most commonly used proxies of accounting quality: earnings management, conditional accounting conservatism and auditor switching. Results and findings: This study demonstrates that, at the expense of accounting quality, club management seeks to promote the image of a financially robust organization in order to secure licensing and, consequently, much needed funding from UEFA. In this manner, the dominance of a management culture which impairs financial performance is further cemented. Implications: UEFA should take into consideration that, in a financially distressed industry focused on achieving success on the field of play, the imposition of regulatory monitoring tied to accounting data inevitably leads to a loss of organizational credibility and transparency. Hence, UEFA's intervention should be accompanied by the imposition of a corporate governance framework which would aim to rearrange club management priorities by facilitating a change in institutionalized mentalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manuscript Type Empirical Research Question/Issue In this paper, we empirically investigate whether US listed commercial banks with effective corporate governance structures engage in higher levels of conservative financial accounting and reporting. Research Findings/Insights Using both market- and accrual-based measures of conservatism and both composite and disaggregated governance indices, we document convincing evidence that well-governed banks engage in significantly higher levels of conditional conservatism in their financial reporting practices. For example, we find that banks with effective governance structures, particularly those with effective board and audit governance structures, recognize loan loss provisions that are larger relative to changes in nonperforming loans compared to their counterparts with ineffective governance structures. Theoretical/Academic Implications We contribute to the extant literature on the relationship between corporate governance and quality of accounting information by providing evidence that banks with effective governance structures practice higher levels of accounting conservatism. Practitioner/Policy Implications The findings of this study would be useful to US bank regulators/supervisors in improving the existing regulatory framework by focusing on accounting conservatism as a complement to corporate governance in mitigating the opaqueness and intense information asymmetry that plague banks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of corporate governance quality (namely board size, board independence, managerial ownership, institutional ownership, and CEO duality) on the profitability and viability of European Union's football clubs over the period 2005-2009. Empirical results documented that corporate governance quality (higher managerial and institutional ownership, increased board size and independence, and the separation of the CEO and chairman roles) leads to greater levels of profitability and viability. Further analysis based on clubs' profitability and viability indicates that sound governance mechanisms are also important for those dubs with intense problems of insolvency and low financial performance. The results of this study dictate the necessity of corporate governance principles for protecting the interests of shareholders and various stakeholders and for maximizing the clubs' economic results and social return. The empirical findings are robust to several sensitivity tests concerning the specification of the models and the measures of financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scope of this paper is to analyze the impact of corporate governance quality (namely board size, board independence, managerial ownership, institutional ownership and CEO duality) on the earnings management behaviour of European Union's football clubs over the period 2006–2009. Empirical results documented that corporate governance quality mitigates aggressive earnings manipulation (income smoothing, accrual manipulation and reporting small positive income) by football managers and specifically clubs with increased board independence, managerial ownership and institutional ownership and small board size are associated with high quality financial reporting through the deterioration of earnings management behaviour. These findings dictate the necessity of sound corporate governance principles to protect the interests of shareholders and various stakeholders, and prevent the expropriation of wealth by managers and maximize the clubs’ economic results and social return. The empirical findings are robust to several sensitivity tests concerning the functioning form of the models and the measures of earnings management. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this paper is to analyze the financial performance of the football clubs participating within the first division of the Greek football league for a period of 14 years (1993 - 2006) and to propose specific actions that need to be taken by both managers and regulators in order to improve the financial stability of the clubs. We perform financial analysis of key accounting ratios extracted from the football club's annual financial statements in order to explain the particular causes of the recent financial crisis which characterizes the Greek professional football league. The analysis of the clubs' annual financial statements revealed that the Greek football clubs are highly leveraged, have intense liquidity and profitability problems and face an increased danger of financial distress, despite the increased amounts that football clubs invested during 2005. The above mentioned crisis can be attributed to aggregate financial mismanagement and political inefficiencies during the last fifteen years. The paper proposes specific actions that need to be taken by both managers and regulators in order to improve the financial stability of the clubs and the overall competitiveness of the Greek football league. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study examines how the informational quality of annual accounting earnings, varies according to the size and composition of the board of directors of publicly listed firms within the Greek capital market. Data analysis over a period of five years (2000–2004) revealed that the informativeness of annual accounting earnings is positively related to the fraction of outside directors serving on the board, but it is not related to board size. Additionally, firms with a higher proportion of outside board members proved to be more conservative when reporting bad news but on the contrary they do not display greater timeliness on the recognition of good news. Finally, firms with a higher proportion of outside directors report earnings of higher quality compared to firms with a low proportion of outside directors. Our results are robust to several sensitivity tests controlling for endogeneity, firm''s fixed effects and alternative models for the estimation of discretionary accruals. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Hall effect is the generation of a transverse electromotive force in a sample carrying an electric current and exposed to perpendicular magnetic field. Depending on the sample geometry, this electromotive force may cause the appearance of a transverse voltage across the sample, or a current deflection in the sample. The generation of this transverse voltage, called Hall voltage, is the generally known way for the of the appearance of the Hall effect. The resistance of this sample increasing under influence of the magnetic field, this called magnetoresistance effect. Both the Hall effect and the magnetoresistance effect belong to the more general class of phenomena called galvanomagnetic effects. Galvamomagnetic effects are the manifestations of charge transport phenomena in condensed matter in the presence of a magnetic field. The sensor applications of Hall effect became important only with the development of semiconductor technology. For one thing, the Hall effect is only strong enough for this propose in some semiconductors. Therefore, the first Hall effect magnetic sensor became commercially available in the mid 1950s, a few year after the discovery of high-mobility compound semiconductors. Our goal in this paper is to understand the physically background of the Hall and the magnetoresistance effects. We are going to discuss the effect of parameters in those phenomena and how we can make better our technology to improve better efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The scope of this study is to examine the impact of board gender diversity on corporate cash-holding decisions within the European sport and leisure sector. A sample of 125 unique firms was selected for the period from 2008 to 2019, and analysis was performed using panel fixed-effects regressions. Empirical evidence documented that the higher the number of women serving on the board of directors, the higher the level of cash the firm holds. This result is attributed to the critical mass theory of governance, suggesting that boards having at least two women directors are associated with higher cash holdings compared to firms with one or no women directors. Additionally, gender diversity leads to increased cash holdings for firms with lower governance quality, suggesting that women on boards perform a monitoring role within those firms with the most severe agency problems. The results remain robust after several sensitivity tests controlling for potential endogeneity among the variables and the model's functional form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Costing systems in recent years have shown a significant development and activity-based costing (ABC) specifically has been considered as a major contribution to cost management, particularly in service businesses. The sport sector is composed to a great extent of service functions, yet considerably less have been reported of the use of activity based costing to support cost management in sport organizations. Since the power of information becomes continuously crucial for the implementation of effective business administration, the traditional methods of cost measurement proved insufficient on this issue, leading to the invention of ABC. The aim of this paper is twofold. First of all we want to present the main theoretical background of ABC and its substantiated benefits, and secondly to present some practical steps for the implementation of ABC in sport organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The year 1979 was a cornerstone for the football in Greece, since it practically meant the transformation of the sport's organization from amateurism to professionalism, establishing new rules and conditions to the management of football clubs. The increased popularity of this sport and the evolutions that took place in Europe and worldwide, forced the Greek government to establish a legislative framework for the successful management of football clubs. These interventions lead to changes in many aspects of football management such as organizational and financial. The new legal environment of football management, required the organization of this sport into a more stable and professional base, following the financial standards of other corporations operating within the Greek state. By these means the government wanted to create a fair economic framework under which the football clubs would operate with common organizational, financial and tax administration rules. The aim of this paper is to present the characteristics of the new «capital form» establishment of the football clubs (Societe Anonyme), the main financial frame under which the new establishment has to operate and the tax obligations that originate from the aforementioned legal form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]