This paper describes the development of the technology threat avoidance theory (TTAT), which explains individual IT users' behavior of avoiding the threat of malicious information technologies. We articulate that avoidance and adoption are two qualitatively different phenomena and contend that technology acceptance theories provide a valuable, but incomplete, understanding of users' IT threat avoidance behavior. Drawing from cybernetic theory and coping theory, TTAT delineates the avoidance behavior as a dynamic positive feedback loop in which users go through two cognitive processes, threat appraisal and coping appraisal, to decide how to cope with IT threats. In the threat appraisal, users will perceive an IT threat if they believe that they are susceptible to malicious IT and that the negative consequences are severe. The threat perception leads to coping appraisal, in which users assess the degree to which the IT threat can be avoided by taking safeguarding measures based on perceived effectiveness and costs of the safeguarding measure and self-efficacy of taking the safeguarding measure. TTAT posits that users are motivated to avoid malicious IT when they perceive a threat and believe that the threat is avoidable by taking safeguarding measures; if users believe that the threat cannot be fully avoided by taking safeguarding measures, they would engage in emotion-focused coping. Integrating process theory and variance theory, TTAT enhances our understanding of human behavior under IT threats and makes an important contribution to IT security research and practice.

Avoidance of information technology threats: a theoretical perspective

A combined measure of financial literacy that includes both a test score of actual financial literacy and a self-rating of overall financial literacy is used in this study. We find that the combined measure appears to provide greater understanding about how financial literacy affects financial behaviors. A large national survey of U.S. adults and households (n = 28,146) was used to investigate how this overall financial literacy is likely to change financial behaviors across five financial topics: credit cards, investments, loans, insurance, and financial advice. For each topic, we include 4–5 financial behaviors (22 in total) to demonstrate the consistency of the findings within and across topics. Although we are unable to identify a causal relationship, the results from the probit analysis show that both actual and perceived financial literacy appear to influence financial behaviors and that perceived financial literacy may be as important as actual financial literacy. (JEL D14, G00)

The effects of perceived and actual financial literacy on financial behaviors

Entrepreneurial exit—the process by which the founders of privately held firms leave the firm they helped to create (DeTienne, J Bus Venturing, 2010)—is an important component of the entrepreneurial process, yet researchers know very little about it. We examine entrepreneurs’ intentions to exit by a range of possible exit paths [acquisition, initial public offering (IPO), family succession, employee buyout, independent sale, liquidation], building on Gimeno et al.’s (Adm Sci Q 42:750–783, 1997) notion of thresholds as they apply to a simple survival/exit dichotomy, and expanding this to include different intended paths of exit. Our results indicate that entrepreneurs intend to pursue different exit paths based on previous entrepreneurial experience, industry experience, age, and education level. Our findings provide preliminary evidence that differences between intended exit and failure are underspecified in the literature, since exit consists of many unique paths. Also, in support of threshold theory, we find that the intended exit path is driven by factors other than firm performance.

Impact of founder experience on exit intentions

http://csinvesting.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Investing-and-Personality-Type.pdf

Investment management and personality type

https://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/733317/2/williams_and_balaz_TM%20Risk.pdf

Tourism, risk tolerance and competences: Travel organization and tourism hazards ☆

An empirical investigation of personal financial risk tolerance

An exploratory investigation of the relation between risk tolerance scores and demographic characteristics

An examination of Australian equity trusts for selectivity and market timing performance

There are two competing views regarding the potential effect of survivorship bias on the assessed persistence in performance of managed fund returns. On the one hand Brown et al. (Review of Financial Studies, 5, 1992) argue that spurious persistence will be induced, while alternatively Grinblatt and Titman (Journal of Finance, 47, 1992) argue the converse case, namely, that performance reversals or nonpersistence is more likely. The current study applies the non parametric contingency table methodology to the year on year raw returns of a sample of Australian Rollover funds as a means of gauging which of these survivorship bias hypotheses has greater support. Generally, the results show that although there is some evidence of persistence, the dominant pattern is one of reversals in performance, thus supporting the Grinblatt and Titman view.

Induced persistence or reversals in fund performance?: the effect of survivorship bias

We explore the nonlinear linkage between financial risk tolerance and demographic characteristics. Our tests support the nonlinear role of age, income and number of dependents.

Terrence Hallahan

Papers

An empirical investigation of personal financial risk tolerance

An exploratory investigation of the relation between risk tolerance scores and demographic characteristics

An examination of Australian equity trusts for selectivity and market timing performance

Induced persistence or reversals in fund performance?: the effect of survivorship bias

Nonlinear linkages between financial risk tolerance and demographic characteristics