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Do Setbacks Delay the Participation in Repeated Competitions? Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Amateur Tennis Players

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  • Simon Haenni

Abstract

Many important life goals require repeated confrontation with competitors. Losing in such competitions may discourage individuals and make them postpone the next stage of the competition and thereby harm future prospects. This study shows new evidence from a large natural experiment with amateur tennis players on how competition outcomes causally aff ect the time to the next tournament. The results suggest that individuals take on average 10% longer to compete again after losing than after winning. The comprehensive data-set allows to identify individual rankings and predicted competition outcomes as reference points, suggesting a complementary role of status-quo and expectation-based reference points.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Haenni, 2016. "Do Setbacks Delay the Participation in Repeated Competitions? Evidence from a Natural Experiment with Amateur Tennis Players," Cahiers de Recherches Economiques du Département d'économie 16.13, Université de Lausanne, Faculté des HEC, Département d’économie.
    • Handle: RePEc:lau:crdeep:16.13
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Filippin, Antonio & Gioia, Francesca, 2018. "Competition and subsequent risk-taking behaviour: Heterogeneity across gender and outcomes," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 84-94.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    competition; reference points; field data;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
    • L83 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Services - - - Sports; Gambling; Restaurants; Recreation; Tourism

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