Susceptibility to and impact of interpersonal influence in an investment context

A.O.I. Hoffmann*, T.L.J. Broekhuizen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the relevance of consumers’ susceptibility to interpersonal influence (csii) in an investment context. In study 1, a survey of individual investors, investment-related knowledge, psycho-social risks, and social needs emerge as antecedents that explain investors’ susceptibility to informational and normative influence. In turn, susceptibility to normative influences increases transaction frequency, whereas susceptibility to informational influences decreases transaction frequency. The experiments in studies 2 and 3 indicate the impact of interpersonal influences on consumers’ investment decisions in a voluntary (free choice) and involuntary (confrontation) setting and check whether csii moderates the impact of interpersonal influences. Consumers’ investment choices are consistently influenced by the information and opinions of others, whereas csii only strengthens the impact of interpersonal influence in a voluntary informational setting.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)488-503
Number of pages16
JournalJournal of the Academy of Marketing Science
Volume37
Issue number4
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2009

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