Mälardalen University Sweden Spring term 2011
School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology Master thesis in Business Administration (EFO704
Supervisor: Mikael Holmgren Examiner: Ole Liljetors Seminar date: 31h May 2011
Motivation
(Business study of Swedish women
Mälardalen University SwedenSchool of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology Business Administration (EFO704)
Motivations of females to play poker online
Business study of Swedish women
A
NASTASIYAto play poker online
Business study of Swedish women)
A
UTHORS:
NASTASIYAB
OCHKAREVA(870208)
K
ARINAP
ETROVA(880613)
ABSTRACT
Title: Propensity of females to play poker online. (Business study of Swedish women) Authors: Anastasiya Bochkareva - 870208
Engelbrektsgatan 8A 72216 Västerås, Sweden aba07001@student.mdh.se Karina Petrova - 880613 Södergatan 22 19547 Märsta, Sweden kpa07001@student.mdh.se Supervisor: Mikael Holmgren
Examiner: Ole Liljetors
Key Words: Online gambling; Online poker; Swedish women; Motivation; Emotional motivations; Material motivations, Atmosphere; Accessibility; Hypotheses; Regression analysis
Institution: Mälardalen University Sweden, School of Sustainable Development of Society and Technology, Box 883, 721 23 Västerås
Course: Master Thesis in Business Administration, 15 ECTS-points, spring semester 2011 Problem: What motivates Swedish women to play poker online for money?
Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the main motives behind Swedish females’ propensity to play poker online by means of hypotheses testing through regression analysis.
Method: Method includes collection of the information on definitions, theories and models about gambling, online gambling (precisely online poker) and motivations to gamble. Five hypotheses have been constructed based on the collected information and the survey have been created and conducted among 397 Swedish female online poker players. Further, based on gathered data, hypotheses have been tested by means of simple linear and multiple regressions.
Results: Regression analysis revealed that emotional and material motivations together with accessibility of the game and surrounding atmosphere play a significant role in the reason why Swedish females play online poker for money. It was also found that emotional motivation was a fundamental factor that triggers Swedish women to gamble. Furthermore, research revealed the hypothetical target segment of female Swedish online poker players. Average Swedish woman is between 30-40 years old single woman without children, who live high speed, active life (either studying or working) and who spends around 30.3 hours per months on playing online poker.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to express gratitude to our supervisor Mikael Holmgren for the guidance and support during our working process. We also appreciate the help of our opponents and we would like to
thank them for their advice and valuable tips.
We would like to dedicate this paper to our parents: Svetlana Bochkareva and Viktor Bochkarev; Zhanna Petrova and Viktor Petrov.
We would like to express additional appreciation to the respondents in Sweden, who spent their time to help us and fill in the survey.
We would like to thank our friends and relatives for their encouragement, care and support.
____________________ ____________________ Karina Petrova Anastasiya Bochkareva
TABLE OF CONTENT ABSTRACT ... ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... 1. INTRODUCTION ... 1 1.1 Problem Background ... 1 1.2 Problem Specification... 3 1.3 Research Question ... 5
1.4 Aim of the Paper ... 5
2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ... 6
2.1 Definitions ... 6
2.1.1 Defining Gambling /Gambling routs and Characteristics ... 6
2.1.2 Defining Online Gambling ... 6
2.1.3 Defining Online Poker ... 7
2.2 Market Segmentation Process ... 8
2.2.1 Segmenting the Internet ... 9
2.3 Motivational Models ... 9
2.3.1 Theory of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation ... 10
2.3.2 Motivation to Gamble/Play Poker ... 11
2.4 Formulating Hypotheses ... 13 3. METHODOLOGY ... 15 3.1 Scientific Methodology ... 15 3.1.1 Conceptual Framework... 15 3.2 Literature Review ... 16 3.3 Choice of Theories ... 17 3.4 Survey ... 18 3.4.1 Choice of Respondents ... 18 3.4.2 Data Collection ... 18 3.4.3 Data Analysis ... 21
3.4.4 Interpreting Regression Statistics ... 24
3.4.5 Descriptive statistics ... 25
3.5 Methodological Issues ... 25
3.6 Validity and Reliability ... 26
4. EMPIRICAL DATA ... 28
4.1 Emotional Motivation ... 28
4.2 Atmosphere ... 29
4.3 Accessibility ... 30
4.4 Material Motivation ... 30
4.5 Hours Spend Playing Online Poker ... 31
4.6 Occupation ... 32
4.7 Educational Level ... 33
4.8 Relationship Status and Children ... 33
4.9 Age ... 34
5. ANALYSIS ... 35
5.1 Demographic characteristics ... 35
5.2 The Model ... 36
5.3 The Hypotheses Testing ... 37
6. CONCLUSION AND DISSCUSSION ... 40
REFERENCES ... 44 APPENDIX ... I Appendix A – Estimating Sample Size ... I Appendix B – Survey ... II Appendix C – Decode and Measurement for Each Survey Question ... IV Appendix D – Homoscedasticity Tests and Residuals Analysis ... VI Appendix E – Regression Data... X
Table of Figures
Figure 1: Estimated internet gambling revenues ... 2
Figure 2: Demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender ... 2
Figure 3: Motivation summary ... 10
Figure 4: The hierarchical model ... 12
Figure 5: Five-factor gambling motivation model ... 12
Figure 6: Parallel five-factor model... 13
Figure 7: Conceptual Framework ... 16
Figure 8: Emotional Motivation ... 28
Figure 9: Atmosphere ... 29
Figure 10: Accessibility ... 30
Figure 11: Material Motivation ... 31
Figure 12: Hours Spend Playing Poker ... 32
Figure 13: Occupation ... 32
Figure 14: Educational Level ... 33
Figure 15: Relationship Status and Children ... 33
Figure 16: Age ... 34
Figure 17: The Hypothesized Model ... 39
Table of Formulas Formula 1: General Regression Equation ... 22
Table of Tables Table 1: Summary Table of Regression Analysis ... 37
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1.
INTRODUCTION
The first chapter introduces the reader to the field of interest and topic for the study. Moreover, it presents the problem background, develops further into the problem specification and ends with the statement of the research question and the research aim.
1.1 Problem Background
Starting from the ancient times with the primitive betting games and until our times, where gambling takes different forms (from casino games to horse races and lotteries) this is one of the oldest activities of the mankind, which has grown into the enormous business sector. (Carey & Carey, 1984)
For some people gambling is seen primarily as an addiction; for others it is just one of the many forms of entertainment, while the third group of people can include those who see gambling as an illegal way of making people spend money. But in spite of all critiques and arguments around gambling, it has proven to be a very successful, huge and rapid growing industry worldwide. (Drozd, 2010)
Just about ten years ago casinos, slot-machines and hippodromes were the physical/land-based locations, where people could place their odds and win/lose money. Nowadays technological progress contributed to the development of gambling practices transforming it into digital services. Digital gambling is becoming more popular and spread among people all over the world. It is now on the growing pace of replacing the land-based gambling. (Lloyd et. al., 2010; King et al., 2009; Griffiths, 2003)
The start of public and commercial internet exploitation in 1990s has made it possible to evolve the land-based gambling services into the online ones. As a result, in 1995 online gambling opportunities have been introduced to the public (Manzin & Biloslavo, 2008; Wood & Williams, 2009). Online gambling industry in recent years has significantly grown in popularity. This growth is characterized by the increasing number of the online gambling web sites; types of the services available; and relatively relaxed regulations towards gambling activities in the majority of the countries worldwide. Now online gambling has developed into strong industry that generates sufficient and growing revenues. (Wood & Williams, 2009; Griffiths, 2003; King et al., 2010) Since 2001 the estimated internet gambling revenues have grown from about 3.1 billions of dollars to nearly 24.5 billion:
Figure 1: Estimated internet gambling revenues (Christian Capital Advisory Ltd., 2011)
According to Drozd (2010) online poker is now listed as the second popular gambling activity in the internet space after betting. Nowadays this is one of the fastest grow
(Griffiths et al. 2006). The first online poker room
1998 while the major expansion took place in 2003 (Wood & Williams, 2009). In 2010 poker generated $5.06 billion, which is nearly 21% out of the whole online gambling industry (Murray, 2011). And if betting online is popular among both male and female segments, online poker is by now only man dominated activity (Drozd, 2010; Wood et al., 2007; Gri
could be illustrated by the below figure, where demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender is presented. Precisely for poker sector, represented by partypoker.com website, men’s dominance is evident.
Figure 2: Demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender (Drozd, 2010) : Estimated internet gambling revenues (Christian Capital Advisory Ltd., 2011)
According to Drozd (2010) online poker is now listed as the second popular gambling activity in the internet space after betting. Nowadays this is one of the fastest grow
(Griffiths et al. 2006). The first online poker room - www.planetpoker.com
1998 while the major expansion took place in 2003 (Wood & Williams, 2009). In 2010 poker rated $5.06 billion, which is nearly 21% out of the whole online gambling industry (Murray, 2011). And if betting online is popular among both male and female segments, online poker is by now only man dominated activity (Drozd, 2010; Wood et al., 2007; Gri
could be illustrated by the below figure, where demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender is presented. Precisely for poker sector, represented by partypoker.com website, men’s
: Demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender (Drozd, 2010)
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: Estimated internet gambling revenues (Christian Capital Advisory Ltd., 2011)
According to Drozd (2010) online poker is now listed as the second popular gambling activity in the internet space after betting. Nowadays this is one of the fastest growing online gambling forms www.planetpoker.com - was implemented in 1998 while the major expansion took place in 2003 (Wood & Williams, 2009). In 2010 poker rated $5.06 billion, which is nearly 21% out of the whole online gambling industry (Murray, 2011). And if betting online is popular among both male and female segments, online poker is by now only man dominated activity (Drozd, 2010; Wood et al., 2007; Griffiths et al., 2010). This could be illustrated by the below figure, where demographic comparison of gambling behavior by gender is presented. Precisely for poker sector, represented by partypoker.com website, men’s
3 | P a g e As the industry is relatively young, there have been done very little research in the online poker field. Consequently, the full-market potential has not been fully realized and investigated (Meyer et al. 2009;Griffiths et. al. in 2010; King et al. 2010; Wood et al., 2007). The existing researches don’t provide the in-depth focuse on the online poker patterns, but rather aggregate and analyze all the different types of gambling in tandem; e.g. by Manzin & Biloslavo (2008); LaBrie et al. (2007); Mowen et al. (2009); Griffiths & Barnes (2008); Lee et al. (2007); Corney & Davis (2010); and some studies with small and representative population samples like Ialomiteanu and Adlaf research in 2001 of 1,254 Ontario adults and Meyer et al. (2009).
Described studies have been attempting to explore the online gambling industry and online poker within this industry from different angles, where most of the effort was put into the investigation of the problem-gamblers and the male-customers dominance in the industry and precisely in the poker world (Griffiths et al., 2009; Ialomiteanu & Adlaf, 2001; LaBrie et al., 2007; LaPlante et al., 2009; Griffiths et. al., 2010; Meyer et.al., 2009)
However the rapid growth of the online gambling and as a part of it, online poker industries has signed that there are new opportunities and a great potential for the further development. The underestimated and poorly investigated women’s segment market might be a great revenue stream for the providers striving to attract the broad customer base especially now, when the competition is tough. (Drozd, 2010)
In order to attract, acquire and retain the female segment, online poker providers need to understand the woman’s behavior and motivations that make her risking money in order to win more (Drozd, 2010; Perse et al., 2005). As it turned out there has been done a very limited research about just females’ motives to gamble (Davis & Avery, 2004); gamble online (Corney & Davis, 2010); and no separate research of women’s motivations to play poker online.
1.2 Problem Specification
Swedish market with its strict monopoly on both land-based and online gambling is of great interest for investigation. Country has only one major gambling operator – Svenska Spel that owns 53 percent of market share. At first, the company was in charge for the land-based gambling facilities, such as four casinos. However, 8 years ago it broadened its power to the Internet gambling (Svenska Spel, 2011; Young & Todd, 2008; Jonsson & Rönnberg, 2009, p.300). In spite of receiving a lot of critiques from the EU and accusations in breaking the fair trade laws, Sweden is still insisting on the monopoly in the gambling industry and legally prohibits all other providers within the country. However it does not stop Swedish people to use services of the international providers and actively participate in the poker tournaments and other kinds of gambling entertainment outside the Swedish legislative boarders. There are currently around 265 websites available in Swedish language (i.e. Bettson, Party Poker, Bwin, etc.). (Young & Todd, 2008; Online Gambling Sites in Sweden, 2011)
4 | P a g e Online poker tables were launched in Sweden by Svenska Spel just in 2006 (Young & Todd, 2008). Consequently, this activity is relatively new and poorly researched within the Swedish boarders. From the demographic perspective the market segment of online poker players might be very broad in Sweden. Since anyone aged at least 18 years old (Jonsson & Rönnberg, 2009, p.302) is legally allowed to participate in the game, there are nearly 7,5 million Swedish people (SCB, 2010) who can be targeted by provides for a great fraction of the potential revenue stream.
However, traditionally poker was predominantly men’s activity. Back in time, women were not supposed to participate in any kind of gambling due to social, cultural and religious aspects (Carey & Carey, 1984). At the present time, the demographic situation in the online poker market is changing, but the typical stereotype that a gambler is a “dashing male figure” does still exist all over the world (Davis & Avery, 2004). The fact that women were not considered as the target segment, contributed to the high opportunity costs for the providers of missing the potential huge customer segment and therefore not gaining profits. (Wood & Griffiths, 2008; Corney & Davis, 2010).
Nevertheless, during the last decade the social perceptions towards poker have changed and became more relaxed. According to recent findings the online poker is evidently gaining more and more attention among women. It was estimated that 33% of the poker playing population are women, who at least once a month play for real money stakes. In Sweden this percentage is second only to Austrian women. Swedish online poker playing females account for the 3% of the whole adult population, meaning that among overall 9 million inhabitants over one hundred thousand women played poker online in 2010. (Zupko, 2010)
A study by Woods & Griffiths (2008) investigated the reasons why Swedish people play online poker and factors influencing trust in poker web-sites. The qualitative research has been done on twenty-four respondents, of which a majority (16 respondents) has been males. It was found that the possibility to play poker online (but not in the land-based casino) has contributed even more to the Swedish women involvement in the game. Woods and Griffith’s (2008) research has revealed that a lot of women tend to swap their genders and register under the men’s names, which was obviously impossible in the land-based casinos. Therefore, women became more confident and eager to participate in the online poker where no one would under evaluate their skills.
This rise in the women’s participation in the online poker games is certainly favorable for the providers striving to attract and retain as much players as possible (Drozd, 2010). The new segment (women) involvement in this industry means that providers should think of new marketing tactics in order to generate the appealing and attractive space for women in the internet poker world. However, as in any business sphere, in order to win the competitive advantage the most essential issue is to understand customers “behavior, drivers and motivations that make them feel like purchasing the product/service”. (Montgomery, 2008)
5 | P a g e Although, there are several studies that attempt to investigate women’s motivations to gamble online (Lee et al. 2007; Corney & Davis, 2010), it was hardly possible to find any sources concerning the motivations of Swedish women to play internet poker. The only study of Wood & Griffiths (2008) of Swedish people playing online poker does not make emphasis on women separately. Moreover, it is restricted to only 24 online poker players, which, taking into account the Swedish population can’t be considered comprehensive in attempt to understand female’s motivations to play poker online. So, despite the fact that providers worldwide have started to investigate women’s behavior, majority of the existing researches are about online gambling as the whole without distinguishing online poker and female segment, and it seems that there is still a gap in this investigation in Sweden.
1.3 Research Question The research question is as follows:
‘What motivates Swedish women to play poker online for money?’ 1.4 Aim of the Paper
It is important to understand the new developing segment in the online gambling industry, so service providers could manage to develop appropriate tactics and campaigns to reach this segment and to make it profitable. Therefore, this came as the first and most important goal for the online poker providers - to understand women’s motivations, i.e. what demographic characteristics combined with the external and internal motivational factors make them play the game. (Drozd, 2010; Wiebe, 2008)
Consequently the aim of this study is to investigate the main motives behind Swedish females’ propensity to play poker online by means of hypotheses testing through regression analysis.
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2.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The second chapter presents the theories, models and definitions that has been the basis for the study and has been constructed through literature review.
2.1 Definitions
Further understanding and definitions of main terms and notations used for current study are presented and explained.
2.1.1 Defining Gambling /Gambling routs and Characteristics
According to Cabot (1999), the attorney with the practice in gaming law and internet gaming, gambling can be defined in the following way:
.. any activity in which a person risks something of value on the outcome of an uncertain event, in which the bettor does not exercise any control or is determined predominantly by chance. (Dewar, 2001)
Gambling has a long prehistory that has started already in the ancient times. The activity that started as an entertainment has grown up into a huge – multibillion business nowadays with lots of casinos, slot-machines, lotteries and various locations where one can bet on horse races, sports and all the possible activities with the unknown outcome. The aim of any gambling activity is to win prize, or more precisely money. (Dewar, 2001)
Drozd (2010) suggests the following classification of gambling types:
- The games of skill where outcome is not only fortune-driven, but the level of gamblers’ knowledge, experience and professionalism play the most crucial role. Such activities include sports betting, cards games (poker) horse racing.
- The games of chance. Here the outcome is not controlled by people and cannot be managed by means of any knowledge, but rather odds and probability are the main linkage to the possible success or failure. These are bingo, casino games, i.e. roulette, lottery.
2.1.2 Defining Online Gambling
With the growth of technological advances the means by which gambling activities can be delivered to the potential customers is becoming even broader. Drozd (2010) suggested dividing the global gambling market into two broad parts, i.e. land-based gambling and digital gambling.
The gambling market nowadays is one of the most profitable segments when it comes to the overall media and entertainment industry. The market offers a broad range of products and services which can be brought up to the consumers by means of various platforms. (Drozd, 2010; Wood et al. 2007)
7 | P a g e Gambling industry inculcated the advances of information and communication technologies and knowledge about virtual business. About ten years ago it started offering services online. In order to make any online gambling portal or casino to function, a complex technological solution has to be implemented. At the same time from the customer perspective everything is need is the access to the internet and a certain amount of money. (Manzin & Biloslavo, 2008)
In various literature several notions could be found that refer to gambling through Internet: ‘online gambling’, ‘internet gambling’, ‘cyber gambling’, ‘casino gaming on the internet’, etc. Internet gambling consist of two types of activities. First, gaming meaning casino type games online e.g. poker, blackjack, roulette. Second, betting or wagering referring to various racing (e.g. horse, dogs) and sport events (e.g. football, hockey, basketball) betting. (Manzin & Biloslavo, 2008)
Online gambling opened up opportunities for people to gamble anytime from anywhere, therefore expending gambling market and transforming many potential players (e.g. who didn’t have land-based casino in the area) into real ones. People are no longer dependant on being geographically restricted to countries or regions. (Manzin & Biloslavo, 2008; Layton & Worthington, 1999)
2.1.3 Defining Online Poker
Online poker is one of the forms of online casino entertainment possibilities and at the same time the game of skills (see 2.1.1) that requires certain talent, intelligence and constant practices. There are three types on online poker services available at the present moment:
- Web-based poker, which can be played directly in the internet without any need to download additional software. This is the most popular form of online poker and the possibility to play in the internet for real money
- Download-based poker where the software needs to be downloaded in order to be able to play. After downloading there is no requirement to be connected to the browser.
- Live dealer poker service. This kind of online poker has not yet reached so much popularity as the two previously described ones but it is an existing development that combines both reality and web space. Users are able to see and interact with dealers by means of video links.
(Drozd, 2010)
Nowadays it is possible to play online poker for real money as well as without any kind of investment. There exists a significant difference between online poker and traditional in-person one. First, the rate of the play online is much faster, since no time is wasted on shuffling and dealing cards. Second, players are not able to see each other, therefore regular means for predicting the behavior like watching mimics and facial reactions are not usable any longer. Players now are
8 | P a g e analyzing each other by other factors such as betting patterns, reaction time, speed of play and so on. (Monaghan & MacCallum, 2006; Wood et al., 2007)
2.2 Market Segmentation Process
Market segmentation process consists of three stages: segmentation, targeting and positioning. The segmentation is essential for strategic marketing. It involves defining market segments, choosing suitable market target and deciding on how and where position the product/service. (Baines et al., 2008, p. 216)
Market segmentation is “the division of a mass market into identifiable and distinct groups or segments, each of which have common characteristics and needs and display similar responses to marketing actions” (Baines et al., 2008, p. 217).
For consumer goods/services’ markets, certain segmentations are used for groups of customers with similar needs and wants. Most common bases are classified as Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and Product-related. (Kurtz et al, 2009, pp. 261)
• Geographic segmentation means dividing consumers into segments by their location. Variables here could be regions; countries; areas; population size; climate; job growth and so on. The main idea behind it is to identify core regions where certain product/service could be distributed.
• Demographic segmentation – customer groups are defined by demographic variables such as age; gender; ethnic group(nationality); education level; income attributes; occupation; social class belonging; household type and life stage.
• Psychographic segmentation is intended to provide deeper insights into consumer behavior. It is based on dividing people into groups with similar interests; opinions; characteristics; values and lifestyles. Psychographic segmentation is the most efficient when applied together with demographic and geographic ones.
• Product-Related segmentation helps to identify customer segments by their connection to product/service. This segmentation is based on benefits that customers seek from the particular product/service. Other variables are for example usage rates – the amounts that customers purchase and how often product/service is used; brand loyalty, etc.
(Baines et al., 2008, pp. 223-239; Kurtz et al, 2009, pp. 261-278).
After dividing markets into segments the next step is to decide which of these segments to target. This could be done by evaluating market segments by effectiveness or attractiveness factors. The third part of segmentation process – positioning – starts when segments have been defined and specific market targets have been identified. Positioning has two important elements - physical
9 | P a g e attributes of product or service and how those are communicated and perceived by customer. (Baines et al., 2008, pp. 246-251)
2.2.1 Segmenting the Internet
With the increasing importance of Internet and online sales it became important for companies and marketers to understand web users and shoppers (Donthu and Garcia, 1999). Internet has eliminated geographical borders and boundaries between companies and its customers and has initiated firms to offer more standardized products/services. Those products and services are offered internationally, which may cause companies to face problems associated with different characteristics and behaviors of customers from all over the world. (Barnes et al., 2007)
Kau et al (2003) study of topology of online shoppers indicated that it is essential to understand different customer segments involved into online activities in order to be able to develop effective strategies and tactics for attracting and keeping those customers. It was found that online and traditional customer segments significantly vary in terms of importance to convenience, risk aversion, impulsiveness as well as more typical dimensions such as age, gender, patterns, social group, etc.
Miller (1999) highlighted another criterion for segmenting Internet users – by manner in which they use it: for academic purposes and studying; for personal use (e.g. entertainment, shopping, communication, etc); for business; etc. The life stage during which people are introduced to Internet is also important and has a lot to do with what people want and need from Internet. The understanding of characteristics of different segments and how they use the Web is crucial for companies that are operating online businesses.
2.3 Motivational Models
“Consumer research looks into the motivations and personalities of an individual in terms of consuming or buying a particular product or service, later turning this information into strategies geared at gaining a particular segment of the market that the company targets or centers on“ (Montgomery, 2008).
The theory of consumer behavior is based upon the three major categories - motivation, cognition, and learning. The motivation can be said to be the fundament in the sequence of the three components. Motivation in other words is the aggregate of drivers, wishes, urges and desires which lie at the roots of consumer behavior. Cognition and learning are products of mental phenomena and can change over time in response to the external factors. (Bayton, 1958)
The important thing about motivation and its nature is that it can be hardly classified as the unitary phenomenon. People have different amounts as well as kinds of motivations, i.e. it is not only stage of motivation but also the kind. (Ryan & Deci, 2000)
2.3.1 Theory of Intrinsic and
From the psychological perspective motivation is the combination of external and internal factors that build up people’s behavior. In the business environment motivation plays a
influences consumers’ behaviors. So, it
service or selling a product to understand factors that motivate people to spend their money knowledge will consequently help providers to
manipulated in the most favorable for the company way. According to several studies in the field of gambling and the motives behind it, intrinsic motivational factors are more common for those poker players and other gamblers who are seeking for socializing and ent
associated with the problem
that make people desperate to winning and are more commonly s problematic addiction. (Lee et al
Intrinsic motivational motives are in other words the internal, i.e. based on personal needs, cognitions and emotions, factors. Person does some kind of activity not for some “separable consequence” but for the self
external triggers that are caused by environmental, social and cultural surroundings of a consumer. (Ryan & Derci, 2000)
Ryan & Derci (2000) summarized the main graph (Figure 3):
Figure
Theory of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
From the psychological perspective motivation is the combination of external and internal factors that build up people’s behavior. In the business environment motivation plays a
consumers’ behaviors. So, it is of a great importance for
product to understand factors that motivate people to spend their money knowledge will consequently help providers to come to the decision how those factors can be
ed in the most favorable for the company way. According to several studies in the field of gambling and the motives behind it, intrinsic motivational factors are more common for those poker players and other gamblers who are seeking for socializing and entertainment and are not commonly associated with the problem-gambling. At the same time extrinsic factors are the materialistic needs that make people desperate to winning and are more commonly seen among poker players with
Lee et al., 2007)
Intrinsic motivational motives are in other words the internal, i.e. based on personal needs, cognitions and emotions, factors. Person does some kind of activity not for some “separable consequence” but for the self-esteem and inner satisfaction. While
external triggers that are caused by environmental, social and cultural surroundings of a consumer.
Ryan & Derci (2000) summarized the main theoretical concepts of both kinds of motivations in one
Figure 3: Motivation summary (Ryan & Derci, 2000)
10 | P a g e From the psychological perspective motivation is the combination of external and internal factors that build up people’s behavior. In the business environment motivation plays a vital role as it is of a great importance for the companies providing a product to understand factors that motivate people to spend their money. This come to the decision how those factors can be ed in the most favorable for the company way. According to several studies in the field of gambling and the motives behind it, intrinsic motivational factors are more common for those poker ertainment and are not commonly extrinsic factors are the materialistic needs een among poker players with
Intrinsic motivational motives are in other words the internal, i.e. based on personal needs, cognitions and emotions, factors. Person does some kind of activity not for some “separable extrinsic factors are those external triggers that are caused by environmental, social and cultural surroundings of a consumer.
concepts of both kinds of motivations in one
11 | P a g e This theoretical presentation subdivides the motivation into three groups, where the extrinsic motivation is stated to be the largest. Two other types of motives, i.e. amotivation and intrinsic motivation, are smaller and of an equal size without any additional subdivisions. In addition to this vertical division, there is a three-row horizontal division: regulatory styles, i.e. the theoretical names of the concepts; associated processes, i.e. the explanation/real-life description of the motivations; and perceived locus of causality, i.e. how the motivations are perceived in reality. This third row of perceived locus of causality explains the broad specter of the extrinsic motivation group, pointing out that the theoretical view on the motivation does not strictly corresponds with the real perceptions. The sector is therefore also subdivided into extrinsic and intrinsic traits with the more incline to the right towards the perceived nature of the motivation. (Ryan & Derci, 2000)
2.3.2 Motivation to Gamble/Play Poker
Understanding gambling behavior and motives of gamblers is the primary goal for marketers who strive to create the persuasive messages for each target group (Mowen et al., 2009). The theory of market segmentation suggests that depending on features possessed by different groups (i.e. national peculiarities, age differences, economic factors, genders, etc.) there do exist different approaches for targeting the particular segment due to the variations in their perceptions, attitudes and motivations when purchasing product/service (Hong & Jang, 2004; Davis & Avery, 2004; Laplante et al., 2009; Griffiths at al., 2010).
The motives and reasons to gamble/play poker are different depending on the perspective from which to consider the results. Obviously the most common reason to gamble is “to win” or “to win money”. Still even both motives sound to be very related they include a wide spectrum of personal traits and primary factors. The Swedish National Institute of Public Health applied three different approaches in the investigation of gambling motivation and involvement; those are sociological approaches, economic and cultural aspects of gambling behavior. (Binde, 2009)
In their investigation of trait antecedents of gambling, Mowen et al. (2009) applied a hierarchical model of personality to make the assumptions of correlations between traits and propensity to gamble and build up hypotheses of positive/negative correlations. They applied a rather psychological approach to determine the traits of gamblers and their motives in different forms of gambling including online facilities. For example, it was found that financial conservatism is negatively related to the online forms of gambling placing the role of money and saving over the insecure possibility to earn more. At the same time introversion was found to be positively related to online gambling stressing the solitary nature of presence online. The openness to experience was also considered to be important characteristic of the online gamblers.
Figure 4 below represents the division of motivational traits to gamble/play online poker in the hierarchical model proposed by Mowen et al. (2009):
Figure
Both Mowen et al. (2009) and Hong & Jung (2004) st
impulsiveness and emotional instability of the major gamblers’ group stressing the inevitable role of emotional motivations when playing for
was not statistically significant determinant of the potential gambler.
In their study of problem gambling and psychological motivations Lee et al. (2007) have proposed two Five-factor gambling motivation model
emphasis on the monetary impact and the implications of gambling severity
Figure
The model (where M stands for ‘motive’)
features that stand behind the economic factor, i.e.
motivation emphasis corresponds with the above Ryan & Derci (2000)
model, where the middle row “Extrinsic motivation” merges both external and internal motives stressing out their interconnection when it comes to the perceptions.
Figure 4: The hierarchical model (Mowen et al., 2009)
Both Mowen et al. (2009) and Hong & Jung (2004) studies suggested the importance o impulsiveness and emotional instability of the major gamblers’ group stressing the inevitable role of
when playing for money. Interestingly it was found out that sensation seeking was not statistically significant determinant of the potential gambler.
In their study of problem gambling and psychological motivations Lee et al. (2007) have proposed factor gambling motivation model. The first one, presented in Figure 5,
on the monetary impact and the implications of gambling severity
Figure 5: Five-factor gambling motivation model (Lee et al., 2007)
(where M stands for ‘motive’) places a great importance of the psychological/emotional features that stand behind the economic factor, i.e. monetary motive
motivation emphasis corresponds with the above Ryan & Derci (2000)
model, where the middle row “Extrinsic motivation” merges both external and internal motives stressing out their interconnection when it comes to the perceptions.
12 | P a g e
: The hierarchical model (Mowen et al., 2009)
udies suggested the importance of impulsiveness and emotional instability of the major gamblers’ group stressing the inevitable role of Interestingly it was found out that sensation seeking
In their study of problem gambling and psychological motivations Lee et al. (2007) have proposed , presented in Figure 5, makes the on the monetary impact and the implications of gambling severity:
Lee et al., 2007)
places a great importance of the psychological/emotional monetary motive. This monetary/extrinsic three groups of motivational model, where the middle row “Extrinsic motivation” merges both external and internal motives
13 | P a g e The second model in Figure 6 is the parallel five-factor model and discuses the independent influence of the 5 factors in gambling severity:
Figure 6: Parallel five-factor model (Lee et al., 2007)
The parallel model emphasizes the independence of all the factors on gambling intensity.
According to the results of the five-factor model investigation, it was found out that monetary motivation does have the direct effect on the gambling severity, while such factors as excitement and avoidance affect gambling behavior only through money motive.
Various other factors could become incentives for people to gamble. Jonsson and Rönnberg (2009) in their article ‘Gambling in Sweden’ discussed such factors as positive and negative emotional state of the person; various events on gambling market and wrong believes and expectations from gambling.
2.4 Formulating Hypotheses
According to Mowen et al. (2009) and their research based on the 3M model discussed in the theoretical background of this study paper, emotional drivers impact positively on the intensity of gambling/online poker gambling. At the same time Lee et al. (2007) stressed out that women were more than men driven by the emotional triggers to be involved in the gambling activities. The positive relationship was also found by Wood & Griffiths (2008) and Corney & Davis (2010). Thus the first hypothesis is:
H1: There is a positive statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and emotional motivation, i.e. self-enjoyment, impulsiveness and excitement all together.
Previous investigations of the gambling/online poker propensity among both men and women found out the significant and positively directed relationship between involvement into the game and economic trigger. Lee et al. (2007) stated that monetary motive is the only one that has the direct impact on gambling severity while all the other motivations (see five-factor model in the theoretical
14 | P a g e background) affect gambling behavior indirectly through money motive. What is more, the existing researches stress out that the money motive is more common among men players. (Mowen et al., 2009; Layton & Worthington, 1999; Lee et al. 2007)
Thus the second hypothesis is:
H2: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and material motivations.
One of the earliest studies of the gambling and socio-economic implications stressed out the importance of ease and convenience when it comes to the accessibility of the gambling service (Layton & Worthington, 1999). Moreover, Wood et al. (2007) found that accessibility and distance from casino were some of the top reasons to gamble online. Corney & Davis (2010) have discovered that around 90% of interviewed women admitted that accessibility of the internet influenced their propensity and frequency to gamble. The positive involvement in the online gambling activities due to the easy and comfortable accessibility, i.e. from home, work, etc. was also found by Wood & Griffiths (2008).
H3: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and level of accessibility of the game.
The positive relationship was also found between the private and relaxed atmosphere the online access gives to women and their frequency and comfort to play online gambling games (Corney & Davis, 2010; Wood & Griffiths, 2008). In their investigation of the reasons to gamble online versus land-based casinos, Wood et al. (2007) found that privacy issues and negative attitudes to the crowdie surroundings were among the most popular motivations to choose the internet gambling services.
H4: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and the surrounding atmosphere
As it was stated earlier, women were traditionally considered to be motivated by the set of the emotions that trigger them to play online poker or are other gambling activity. Lee et al. (2007) found that the amount of women admitting emotional motivation was around 70%. Also Corney & Davis (2010) stressed out this fact in their investigation of females’ attractions towards online gambling. Thus the 5th hypothesis is:
H5: Emotional incentive, i.e. excitement, enjoyment, adrenaline, has the largest/the most important impact on Swedish women’s propensity to play poker online.
15 | P a g e
3.
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Scientific Methodology
Current research reflected the concept of positivism, where authors prefer ‘working with the observable social reality and the end product of such research can be law-like generalizations similar to those produced by the physical and natural scientists’ (Remenyi et al. 1988 as citied in Saunders et al., 2009, pp.113). The phenomena/topic authors observed lead to generation of a credible data and research strategy based on existing theories and models as well as hypotheses. Authors attempted to carry out the research in a value-free way, meaning that authors were not influenced by the subject of the investigation and didn’t influence it themselves. This was achieved by carefully designing the research process and using highly structured methodology. (Saunders et al., 2009, pp.113-114)
There are two possibilities to decide what is true or false and draw fair and relevant conclusions – deduction and induction; the first one is based on logic, while second – on empirical evidence (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, p. 15). Current research was based on deductive approach, meaning that the theories and hypotheses were build first, before collecting empirical data. Authors performed detailed literature review on the selected research topic and, based on this literature review, built up the theoretical framework and the rest of the research process. Authors deducted five hypotheses from the existing literature and tested those using existing concepts in statistical analysis:
H1: There is a positive statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and emotional motivation, i.e. self-enjoyment, impulsiveness and excitement all together.
H2: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and material motivations.
H3: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and level of accessibility of the game.
H4: There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between Swedish women propensity to play online poker and the surrounding atmosphere
H5: Emotional incentive, i.e. excitement, enjoyment, adrenaline, has the largest/the most important impact on Swedish women’s propensity to play poker online.
3.1.1 Conceptual Framework
In order to study the research topic, answer research question and achieve the aim of the study, authors developed a conceptual framework based on the performed literature review:
Quantitative research method was chosen in association with deductive approach. Quantitative research involves measurements and is focused on testing and verification. Therefore for
study, where hypotheses have been constructed, quantitative method was the most suitable since it allowed accepting or rejecting
conduct the pre-structured survey on a sample of respondents that was taken from overall female population of Sweden over 18 years old.
Conceptual framework, summarized in figure 7 Segmentation/Demography as well as
Models (from which extrinsic motivation factors such intrinsic motivation factors
theories; distinguished factors has been constructed. With help of well as descriptive statistics
interpreted. By testing the hypothese
achieved the research aim and answered the stated research question. not only to identify motivations of some hypothetical
money. It was also relevant to understand
online gambler in order to get the picture of the potential profitable segme poker players.
3.2 Literature R
Authors began the study by collecting relevant gambling, online gambling
money in the Internet. Key academic theories
Figure 7: Conceptual Framework (own illustration)
Quantitative research method was chosen in association with deductive approach. Quantitative surements and is focused on testing and verification. Therefore for
es have been constructed, quantitative method was the most suitable since it accepting or rejecting these hypotheses in a logical and consistent way. A
structured survey on a sample of respondents that was taken from overall female population of Sweden over 18 years old.
, summarized in figure 7 included theoretical background about hy as well as Motivational models - Hierarchy of Traits and 5
from which extrinsic motivation factors such as accessibility and material needs factors – emotional and atmospheric have been identified
theories; distinguished factors; literature review and hypotheses, survey for testing those hypotheses structed. With help of statistical analysis, precisely multiple and single regression well as descriptive statistics, data collected from the survey have been accessed,
. By testing the hypotheses and identifying which are accepted and
achieved the research aim and answered the stated research question. The idea of the research was dentify motivations of some hypothetical Swedish woma
was also relevant to understand the general characteristics of in order to get the picture of the potential profitable segme
Literature Review
Authors began the study by collecting relevant ideas; theories; models and previous researches gambling, online gambling industry, online poker and motives behind people playing games for
Key academic theories within research area have been identified
16 | P a g e
Conceptual Framework (own illustration)
Quantitative research method was chosen in association with deductive approach. Quantitative surements and is focused on testing and verification. Therefore for current es have been constructed, quantitative method was the most suitable since it s in a logical and consistent way. Authors chose to structured survey on a sample of respondents that was taken from overall female
included theoretical background about Hierarchy of Traits and 5-factor as accessibility and material needs and have been identified). Based on those survey for testing those hypotheses precisely multiple and single regressions as y have been accessed, analyzed and s and identifying which are accepted and/or rejected, authors The idea of the research was Swedish woman to play online poker for the general characteristics of the typical female Swedish in order to get the picture of the potential profitable segment among Swedish female
theories; models and previous researches about and motives behind people playing games for research area have been identified and their
17 | P a g e overview was presented as theoretical framework and also used in introduction. Authors started out by retrieving more general information about gambling industry and motivation and then narrowed it down to online gambling, online poker and females playing it and therefore came up with limited field of study and precise research question. Several types of sources have been used for retrieving the information for the research.
Both secondary and primary sources have been located with help of tertiary sources. Those ‘search tools’ included search engines such as Google - http://www.google.se/ and Google Scholar - http://scholar.google.se/; subject directories – Yahoo! - http://www.yahoo.com/. Moreover, several databases have been used – EMERALD (http://ep.bib.mdh.se:2086/); ABI/INFORM Global (ProQuest); LibHub (http://ep.bib.mdh.se:3655/libhub). (Saunders et al., 2009, pp. 86-87)
Due to the fact that most of the information has been accessed online, certain parameters of the search have been defined. Language of publications was English since the report had to be written in English as well; search area as has been mentioned was within gambling and online gambling industry as well as people’s motives for gambling online; geographical area of search was not limited, documents from all over the world written in English and within subject area have been reviewed. Certain ‘’key words’ such as ‘gambling’; ‘online gambling’; ‘Internet gambling’; ‘online poker’; ‘motivation theories’; ‘segmentation’; ‘women gambling’, etc. have been defined and used for searching both primary and secondary sources through tertiary sources. (Saunders et al., 2009, pp. 75-76)
Primary sources, which are first occurrences of documents that were used for literature review and theoretical framework, included several reports and studies connected to gambling and online gambling research, published by Swedish National Institute of Public Health and European Parliament's committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO).
Secondary sources included books and journal articles retrieved with help of described tertiary sources. Various article on chosen topic have been found in ‘European Journal of Marketing’; ‘Journal of Marketing’; ‘Journal of Gambling Issues’; ‘Journal of Advertising Research’; ‘Journal of Consumer Marketing’; ‘Journal of Business Research‘; etc. Books such as ‘Marketing’; ‘Contemporary Marketing’; ‘Gambling in Sweden’, etc. have been found in Mälardalen University and Västerås city libraries.
3.3 Choice of Theories
The theories applied in this paper were chosen after the careful and detailed literature review. The theoretical base attained from the specific scientific studies and books served as the fundament for creation of the conceptual framework for this research.
As the incline of this study paper is on characteristics of women playing online poker and their motivations, the theoretical framework was subdivided into three parts.
18 | P a g e First, it was important to get the background on overall gambling characteristics, i.e. industry with its opportunities, and precisely online poker, in order for authors to get deeper knowledge and exact picture of chosen business sector.
Then, the insight on the marketing segmentation was needed in order to find out the main characteristics, i.e. marital status, occupational and educational levels etc., of the potential online poker playing women. These theories were mainly needed in order to make up the second part of the survey, where the aim was to receive the personal features of the women market segment.
And for the last and the most important part of this research, the deep investigation of the motivational theories and models was made. These theories were essential in order to build up the likert-scales of the survey and according to the attained responses apply the statistical analysis, i.e. multiple regressions. This was supposed to identify the significance of the theoretically suggested motivations to play poker online for the women in Sweden and come to conclusion which drivers are the most important.
3.4 Survey
3.4.1 Choice of Respondents
As have been mention, the current study was focused on women in Sweden who play poker online for real money. The total population of the country for 31th of December, 2010 was 9,415,570 people of age from 0 to 111, where 4,725,326 people were women (SCB, 2010). Out of 4,725,326 women – 3,729,091 are older than 18 years old, which is the legal age from which people are allowed to gamble (SCB, 2010).
According to Fisher (2007, p. 189) and Saunders et al. (2009, pp. 218-219), the suitable sample size for the research depends on the size of the margin of error researchers are prepared to accept and the size of the population from which the sample is going to be drawn. For current research the authors accepted 95% confidence/certainty level and the margin of error/confidence interval of +/- 5%, in other words for example if 53 % of sample prefer category A, authors were 95% sure that the same estimate for the whole population within the same category A was going to be 53% +/- 5%, between 48 and 58%.
Taking into account confidence level; margin of error and the total size of the population from which the sample was taken - 3,729,091 (SCB, 2010) women in Sweden who play online poker, by using table in appendix A, authors estimated the required amount of completed questionnaires, which equaled to 384 surveys. (Fisher, 2007, p. 190; Saunders et al., 2009, p. 219)
3.4.2 Data Collection
Primary data for the research was collected through a survey. Authors used analytical type of questionnaire, because with this type, it is possible to understand the relationships and identify
19 | P a g e independent, dependent and extraneous variables which is the aim of the research (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, p. 119). Moreover, in analytical surveys performed literature review and constructed theories are of great importance while structuring the overall research that is exactly the case with current study, where a lot of emphasis was put on existing literature, theory and researches. Furthermore, employing analytical type of questionnaire gave authors possibility to manage independent, dependent and extraneous variables with help of statistical techniques and analysis, such as multiple and single regression analysis.
The survey was logically structured: starting with similar general questions and moving on to more specific personal ones in the end of the survey. Pre-structured survey is shown in Appendix B. Authors attempted to construct relatively short survey, so respondents wouldn’t get tired and loose interest while filling it in. The language used is simple; easy to understand and straight forward. Authors made sure to use words that don’t have double meaning and that overall language is easy to understand for people with different background (education, knowledge, etc) In addition all questions and explanations were formulated in polite and soft nature, so not to offend, annoy or provoke the respondents. (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, pp. 123-124)
Questions were formulated so there was no escape route for respondents to avoid answering the question. Authors didn’t provide answer option such as ‘no comment’, therefore ensured respondents to choose one of the answers. (Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, pp. 122, 124)
Each question in the survey was aimed to measure only one variable/ dimension, so respondents and authors wouldn’t get confused, moreover, each question has been carefully coded in order for authors to be able to perform statistical analysis of the data. A detailed explanation of what each survey question was intended to measure and decode for each question is presented in Appendix C. Types of primary data included status and state of affairs data, which data on demographics and socio- economic nature. For current research authors were interested in retrieving information about age, marital status, education level, occupation and amount of time respondents spend playing poker. Questions were based on the segmentation theory and its implications. Six questions were constructed based on segmentation theory in order to collect status and state of affairs data. Two questions about the age of the respondents and amount of time spend playing poker were of open-ended nature, so respondents were able to fill in their exact age and their own estimate of time spend playing poker and not tick a box with suitable range. That was done in order to be able to identify the exact average age of the respondents and exact number of hours they play poker online. Other four questions were closed questions, where respondents were offered to choose one of the provided answers: two dichotomous questions which had just two alternatives to choose from and two multiple-choice questions were employed. (Fisher, 2007, pp. 193-199; Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, p. 100)
20 | P a g e Second type of primary data gathered was data on motivation. Collected data helped to understand motives and stimuli behind woman playing online poker. Twelve likert-scales one of the forms of rating scales were constructed in order to find such factors as driving forces and motives that influence respondents’ behavior and are behind them choosing to play online poker for money. Likert-scales were based on motivation theories and models chosen as theoretical framework for the research. Respondents were asked to choose a number from one to seven that best represents the extent to which provided statements correspond to the reasons why they play poker online. The spread of answers was between ‘does not correspond at all’ - one to ‘corresponds exactly’ – seven. (Fisher, 2007, pp. 195-196; Ghauri & Grønhaug, 2010, p. 101)
Pre-structured survey have been spread among the female customers of Casino ‘Cosmopol’ in Stockholm city by authors and their friend who works in the casino and have access to the potential respondents. It was assumed that women, who gamble in land-based location, were possibly gambling online as well. Survey was designed, so the first question identified the respondents who play online poker, moreover, when author were in the casino on 15th of March and 27th of April, 2011 between 14.00 – 19.00 pm they were first directly asking potential female respondents if they play poker online and in case of positive reply asked them to fill in the survey; in total during the first visit authors collected 47 completed questionnaires and during the second visit 84. Friends of authors have been giving out surveys to female customers, who agreed to fill it in during 4 days between 11.04.2011-14.04.2011 and during 4 more days between 25.04.2011-27.04.2011 and on 29.04.2011. The total amount of given out surveys for both time periods exceeded 650, where just 230 have been fully completed.
Besides casino ‘Cosmopol’ authors have spend time in ‘ATG‘ - Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board locations trying to reach potential respondents with the same technique. On 14th of March, 2011 both authors have been in ‘ATG’ locations in their home-towns in Västerås and Märsta, between approximately 12.00 and 17.00 pm. Both authors together collected 36 completed surveys. Even though that ‘ATG’ have nothing to do with poker, it is the place where people place bets on horse racing, which is one of the form of gambling, therefore the audience visiting ‘ATG’ gambles and possibly plays online poker (ATG the Company, 2011). Authors were asking any female ‘ATG’ visitors if the play online poker and if the answer was positive asked them to complete the survey. Coverage of respondents from three different cities in Sweden – Stockholm, Västerås and Märsta provided authors with wide sample of the population not located in one place/city in other words geographical area, and therefore generalization of the result on this sample is possible.
As calculated above the amount of completed surveys that was required for the study based on total population size, confidence interval and level was 384, where total number of completed survey that authors manage to collect equaled to 397, which is more than enough in order to achieve representative results and make conclusions general for overall population. The rate of response is
21 | P a g e calculated by dividing the total amount of collected surveys (397) with total number of given out surveys (≈820) and multiplying by 100%. The respond rate equaled 48,4% for current study.
3.4.3 Data Analysis
For testing the deducted hypothesis, using data collected from the survey, authors decided to perform regression analysis. In order to investigate the important and significant relations between dependent and explanatory variables in business statistics or economic research, the regression analysis can be applied (Ghauri & Grønhaug pp.177-184). Barrow (1996, p.220) stressed out the applicability of regression analysis as a tool to measure the impact of the exogenous, i.e. explanatory, factors on the endogenous one, i.e. dependent variable. By entering step-by-step the variables into simple linear regression one can assess the change of the explanatory power of the new model (multiple) and see whether the power rises, remains unchanged or diminishes. If the power rises then this means that the additional explanatory variables were needed; if the model weakens in its explanatory power then the extra variables ruin the main regression principles/assumption:
- Linearity of the relationship between predictors and dependent variable - Homoscedasticity/ homogeneity of variance
- Independence of the error terms - Normal distribution of errors
The violation of the main assumptions can be checked, which was done in this particular study. The violations of linearity were detected with the help of observed residuals versus fits in Minitab, where the points have been symmetrically distributed around the line. Independence of the error terms was detected by checking if there is a presence of autocorrelation. Graph residuals versus order can provide the visual evidence of presence or absence of the autocorrelation: the cluster of residuals with the same sign told about the existence of positive autocorrelation, a negative autocorrelation was indicated by rapid changes in the signs of sequential residuals. The normal probability plot provides the evidence of normality or non-normality otherwise. If the distribution is normal, then the residuals have to be proportionally placed close to the diagonal line. According to homoscedasticity assumption the dependent variable has to exhibit similar variances across the range of predictor variable. There is a graphical method called boxplot to check this assumption of the regression analysis.
All the assumptions were checked (see Appendix D). Obviously it is hardly possible to get perfect matches with the theory because of the data specification/encoding, broad sample and probably sometimes random answers. However, taking into account that the original data is coded with the equal intervals, the regression can be considered as the appropriate tool to make the particular
