IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/rnd/arjebs/v11y2020i6p32-45.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Influence of Culture on Investment Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Study of Ghanaian Population

Author

Listed:
  • Adu Bonna
  • Robert Awobgo-Moah Amoah

Abstract

This study seeks to explore the influence of culture on the investment decisions of Ghanaians. It is motivated by the perception that Ghanaians show no enthusiasm for long-term investments or life insurance products. To explore this problem, we used a random sampling, quantitative cross-sectional technique to administer a set of questionnaires to a cross-section of 120 Ghanaians residing in the City of Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A. Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions were used as the theoretical framework to guide the study. The results showed that Ghanaians prefer short-duration risk-free investments to long-duration risky investments. Ghanaian investors are not aggressive in gathering and analyzing financial information before making investment decisions. Their investment decisions are influenced by others, intuition, comfort and security, and their belief systems, rather than rational analysis of information, and risk-reward relationships derived from financial models. The use of intuition and information passed on from relatives, family members and others in making investment decisions paves the way for cultural factors to influence investment decisions. We conclude that cultural values have significant influence on the investment decisions of Ghanaians. The study seeks to motivate investors to examine and broaden their cultural awareness to enable them to develop financial plans to achieve their investment goals. We recommend that to overcome negative cultural influence on investment decision making, financial education should be vigorously pursued to broaden financial literacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Adu Bonna & Robert Awobgo-Moah Amoah, 2020. "Influence of Culture on Investment Decisions: A Cross-Sectional Study of Ghanaian Population," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 11(6), pages 32-45.
    • Handle: RePEc:rnd:arjebs:v:11:y:2020:i:6:p:32-45
    DOI: 10.22610/jebs.v11i6(J).2955
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jebs/article/view/2955/1907
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jebs/article/view/2955
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22610/jebs.v11i6(J).2955?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karen Moustafa Leonard & Michael Slaubaugh & Hwei Cheng Wang, 2010. "Cultural effects on accounting practices and investment decisions," International Journal of Accounting and Finance, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 2(2), pages 156-170.
    2. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    3. repec:aer:wpaper:76 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. East, Robert, 1993. "Investment decisions and the theory of planned behaviour," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 14(2), pages 337-375, June.
    5. Ibarra, Raul, 2013. "A spatial dominance approach to evaluate the performance of stocks and bonds: Does the investment horizon matter?," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 429-439.
    6. Grable, John & Lytton, Ruth H., 1999. "Financial risk tolerance revisited: the development of a risk assessment instrument," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 163-181.
    7. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1993. "Common risk factors in the returns on stocks and bonds," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 3-56, February.
    8. William F. Sharpe, 1964. "Capital Asset Prices: A Theory Of Market Equilibrium Under Conditions Of Risk," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 19(3), pages 425-442, September.
    9. Mark Grinblatt & Matti Keloharju, 2001. "How Distance, Language, and Culture Influence Stockholdings and Trades," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(3), pages 1053-1073, June.
    10. Hariharan, Govind & Chapman, Kenneth S. & Domian, Dale L., 2000. "Risk tolerance and asset allocation for investors nearing retirement," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 159-170, 00.
    11. Eugene F. Fama & Kenneth R. French, 2004. "The Capital Asset Pricing Model: Theory and Evidence," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 25-46, Summer.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Turan G. Bali & Robert F. Engle & Yi Tang, 2017. "Dynamic Conditional Beta Is Alive and Well in the Cross Section of Daily Stock Returns," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 63(11), pages 3760-3779, November.
    2. Pesaran, M. Hashem & Yamagata, Takashi, 2012. "Testing CAPM with a Large Number of Assets," IZA Discussion Papers 6469, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. İbrahim Ethem Güney & Abdullah Kazdal & Doruk Küçüksaraç & Muhammed Hasan Yılmaz, 2021. "Exchange Rate Sensitivity of Firm Value: Evidence from Nonfinancial Firms Listed on Borsa Istanbul," Springer Books, in: Burcu Adıgüzel Mercangöz (ed.), Handbook of Research on Emerging Theories, Models, and Applications of Financial Econometrics, edition 1, pages 141-165, Springer.
    4. Sabine Elmiger, 2019. "CAPM-anomalies: quantitative puzzles," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 68(3), pages 643-667, October.
    5. Javid, Attiya Yasmin & Ahmad, Eatzaz, 2008. "Testing multifactor capital asset pricing model in case of Pakistani market," MPRA Paper 37341, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Joel M. Vanden, 2021. "Equilibrium asset pricing and the cross section of expected returns," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 17(2), pages 153-186, June.
    7. Kohlscheen, Emanuel & Takáts, Előd, 2021. "What can commercial property performance reveal about bank valuations?," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    8. Jan A. Kempkes & Francesco Suprano & Andreas Wömpener, 2023. "An empirical evaluation of dynamic approaches for estimating firms’ expected cost of equity capital," The Financial Review, Eastern Finance Association, vol. 58(4), pages 859-886, November.
    9. He, Zhen & O’Connor, Fergal & Thijssen, Jacco, 2022. "Identifying proxies for risk-free assets: Evidence from the zero-beta capital asset pricing model," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    10. Brandon Flores & Blessing Ofori-Atta & Andrey Sarantsev, 2021. "A stock market model based on CAPM and market size," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 405-424, September.
    11. Arouri, Mohamed El Hedi & Nguyen, Duc Khuong & Pukthuanthong, Kuntara, 2012. "An international CAPM for partially integrated markets: Theory and empirical evidence," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 36(9), pages 2473-2493.
    12. Mabekebeke Segojane & Godfrey Ndlovu, 2022. "An Investigation of the Beta Anomaly in Emerging Markets: A South African Case," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-18, May.
    13. Bravo Sergio, 2019. "The Corporate Life Cycle and the Cost of Equity," Journal of Business Valuation and Economic Loss Analysis, De Gruyter, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, February.
    14. Qianwei Ying & Tahir Yousaf & Qurat ul Ain & Yasmeen Akhtar & Muhammad Shahid Rasheed, 2019. "Stock Investment and Excess Returns: A Critical Review in the Light of the Efficient Market Hypothesis," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-22, June.
    15. Jordan Bowes & Marcel Ausloos, 2021. "Financial Risk and Better Returns through Smart Beta Exchange-Traded Funds?," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-30, June.
    16. Beck, Elliot & De Nard, Gianluca & Wolf, Michael, 2023. "Improved inference in financial factor models," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 364-379.
    17. Petros Messis & Achilleas Zapranis, 2014. "Asset pricing with time-varying betas for stocks traded on S&P 500," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(36), pages 4508-4518, December.
    18. M Hashem Pesaran & Takashi Yamagata, 2024. "Testing for Alpha in Linear Factor Pricing Models with a Large Number of Securities," Journal of Financial Econometrics, Oxford University Press, vol. 22(2), pages 407-460.
    19. Amit Goyal, 2012. "Empirical cross-sectional asset pricing: a survey," Financial Markets and Portfolio Management, Springer;Swiss Society for Financial Market Research, vol. 26(1), pages 3-38, March.
    20. James W. Kolari & Jianhua Z. Huang & Wei Liu & Huiling Liao, 2022. "Further Tests of the ZCAPM Asset Pricing Model," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, March.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:rnd:arjebs:v:11:y:2020:i:6:p:32-45. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Muhammad Tayyab (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ojs.amhinternational.com/index.php/jebs .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.