Do current and future managers think alike? An experiment with LNG capacity auctions

Abstract

An experiment has been carried out in the laboratory to assess the difference in the bidding behaviour between current managers of an energy company and future managers or university students of Economics. The novelty ofthe experimentis thatit has precisely mimicked a real capacity auction of LNG off-loading and that the professionals that have participated belong to the energy company that is responsible for the auctions. The experiments show that the laboratory setting is appropriate both for teaching and experimentation. The research results demonstrate that professionals bid higher than students and that women bid higher than
men.