Social influence in the stock market : a Singapore study

• Main Author: Tan, Hui Wen
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/51688
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This study aims to understand the Singaporean individual investor’s stock market participation. While existing literature largely asserts that social interactions influence the investment decisions one makes in the stock market, there is a gap in addressing how one’s social network shapes his stock market participation. Consistent with Granovetter’s (1973) findings, results from in-depth interview data suggest that investors receive more financial knowledge through actors with whom they share weaker ties. They also imagine two types of social networks – communal and professional – and despite efforts to obtain group validation from the former, investors with less experience often engage in herd behaviour, conforming to norms and expectations within their professional networks. Eventually, perceptions and decisions are guided by personal disposition and investment objectives yet constrained by the socio-cultural structure within which investors exist.