"Doing good while doing well" An investigation of Generation Y's intention to invest socially responsibly
Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate behavioral factors influencing investment intentions. Design/methodology/approach A descriptive quantitative study was conducted utilizing an online questionnaire with a total of 121 respondents. Findings The results of the study indicated that Subjective Norm, Perceived Behavioral Control, and Perceived Consumer Effectiveness are positively related to Intention to Invest. Attitude and Perceived Risk did not reach statistical significance and no conclusions could therefore be drawn regarding the concepts. Research limitations/implications The greatest limitation of the study is that it measures intention and not actual behavior which could be of more value, both from a theoretical and managerial perspective. The implication of the study is that it contributes to the Socially Responsible Investment literature from the intentional perspective and that it considers Generation Y, two aspects that have previously been neglected. The study further provides companies operating in SRI industry with a framework to use when acquiring customers within Generation Y. Originality/value As recent Socially Responsible Investment research has focused almost exclusively on financial performance this study offers value in that it instead explains behavioral factors influencing the Intention to Invest. It further focuses on Generation Y which is the upcoming generation when it comes to investing that has to a large extent been neglected in the SRI literature.