Stock market investment and different behavioural patterns: an exploratory study

Purpose - The purpose of the research is to gain an understanding about how stock market investors impact various behavioural personality traits in various consumer groups with differing levels of motivation and capacity to absorb emerging stock market data. Design/methodology/approach - The research has used structural equation modelling (SEM) to test the validity of the theoretical model. Findings - The current paper is the first study that uses stock market data from an emerging economy to examine the relationship between stock market investment and different behavioural patterns such as stock market attachment, trust, satisfaction and loyalty. The authors observe the presence of direct positive relationships between stock market investment and different behavioural personality traits. Moreover, the authors also observe that stock market attachment can be seen as an intermediary variable between stock investment involvement and satisfaction. The empirical findings also suggest the presence of indirect relationships between stock investment involvement and satisfaction and between stock market attachment and loyalty. The authors find that the indirect relationship between stock market attachment and loyalty occurs when the level of satisfaction is higher. Therefore, satisfaction appears to facilitate the relationship between stock market attachment and loyalty. Research limitations/implications - One major limitation of the study is data availability. More specifically, the study was conducted with customers of eight different banks in the province of Eskisehir, Turkey. From the 250 questionnaires distributed, 173 were returned, yielding a response rate of 69.2%. Practical implications - By identifying the trait characteristics of segments of stock market participants relative to their propensity to invest in stocks, it is possible to tailor messages that influence people to invest for the long term. Originality/value - The paper deploys stock market data from an emerging economy to investigate the relationship between stock market investment and different surface traits such as stock market attachment, trust, satisfaction and loyalty. To the best of the authors' knowledge the current paper is the first such study.