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Cleansing Investor’s Conscience: The Effects of Incidental Guilt on Socially Responsible Investment Decisions

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Listed:
  • Victoria Gevorkova

    (University of Reading)

  • Ivan Sangiorgi

    (University of Reading)

  • Julia Vogt

    (University of Reading)

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of incidental guilt on Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) decisions of retail investors. Do investors who feel guilty invest more in SRIs to clear their conscience? Are guilty investors willing to sacrifice returns to restore their moral selves? Using survey data from an online quasi-experiment among a sample of US retail investors, we find that individuals who experience incidental guilt are willing to invest more in SRI funds than those in a neutral state. We show that this effect, albeit moderate in magnitude, cannot be explained solely by differences in retail investors’ moral reasoning, attitudes towards social responsibility, risk tolerance and demographic factors. When presented with a trade-off between sustainability, risk and return characteristics of the funds, guilty investors are more willing to sacrifice returns for greater sustainability than non-guilty participants. Our research provides new evidence of the effect that incidental guilt has on the sustainable investing decisions of retail investors.

Suggested Citation

  • Victoria Gevorkova & Ivan Sangiorgi & Julia Vogt, 2024. "Cleansing Investor’s Conscience: The Effects of Incidental Guilt on Socially Responsible Investment Decisions," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 193(1), pages 89-114, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:193:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s10551-023-05585-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-023-05585-9
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Retail investors; Socially responsible investment; Morality; Psychological motives; Guilt; Emotions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • M14 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - Corporate Culture; Diversity; Social Responsibility
    • A13 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Relation of Economics to Social Values
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • C25 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Discrete Regression and Qualitative Choice Models; Discrete Regressors; Proportions; Probabilities

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