Mediation Effect of Behavioral Marketing Cues on Investment Choices of Retail Investors In Chennai

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.66210/83yggg58

Keywords:

Behavioral Marketing Cues, Investment Decision, Emotional Mediation, Framing Effect, Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), Retail Investors, Chennai.

Abstract

In this research, the authors consider the mediating effect of marketing cues of behaviour in the decision-making process of retail investors in Chennai. The studies examine the relationships between cognitive biases, social influences, and emotional reactions and Retail Investment Motivation (RIM) using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and IBM SPSS and AMOS. The results suggest that direct influences of the Framing Effect (FE) and the Emotional Mediation Response (EMR) on RIM were the strongest ones, which supports the prevailing position of cognitive biases and emotional judgments in the process of financial decision-making. On the contrary, the direct effect of Anchoring Bias (ANB), Social Proof (SCP), and Scarcity and Urgency Cues (SUCU) is less strong. It is possible to note that the mediate analysis indicates that EMR completely mediates the effect between Encouragement Cues (ENC) and RIM, partially mediates the influence of SCP, and does not mediate the influence of FE and ANB. Moreover, the effect of SUCU on decision-making with no emotional mediation is substantial, and a more reflexive behavioural reaction to urgency cues is indicated. The research adds to the body of literature on behavioural finance based on cognitive and emotional factors that influence the retail investment behaviour and offers some practical implications to financial marketers and policymakers who are interested in learning the psychology of investors.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biography

  • Prabu A, J.J. College of Engineering and Technology, Trichy.

    Dr. A. Prabu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Management Studies at J.J. College of Engineering and Technology, Tiruchirappalli, India. He holds a full-time Ph.D. in Finance from SRM Institute of Science and Technology (SRMIST) Kattankulathur. He has earned an M.Phil. in Management and a BBA from Rajah Serfoji Government College (Autonomous), Thanjavur, and an MBA in Finance from Adaikalamatha College, Vallam, Thanjavur, affiliated to Bharathidasan University. He also completed an M.Com. in Finance and Control through distance education from Alagappa University. Dr. Prabu is an active researcher with publications in Scopus, ABDC, and UGC CARE–listed journals, along with several ISBN book chapters and a Scopus-indexed IGI Global book chapter. He is the inventor of a published patent titled “The Impact of Virtual Reality on Corporate Training and Development.” His research interests focus on finance, investment behaviour, financial literacy, and behavioural finance. He has presented papers at numerous national and international conferences and has participated in more than 30 Faculty Development Programmes (FDPs), including one AICTE ATAL FDP. He has also successfully completed the AICTE organized Universal Human Values (UHV) programme, three NPTEL courses, and four Coursera certification courses. He has strong expertise in quantitative research methodologies and is proficient in statistical and analytical tools such as SPSS, AMOS, and SmartPLS.

References

Ahn, J., & Lee, M. (2024). Examining a hyper-human virtual brand ambassador as a brand personification strategy. Journal of Product & Brand Management. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/JPBM-06-2024-5290

Ali, A., et al. (2025). The power of influencers: How does influencer marketing shape consumers' purchase intentions. ResearchGate Preprint. https://www.researchgate.net/

Ariely, D. (2009). Predictably irrational: The hidden forces that shape our decisions. HarperCollins.

Bajaj, S., & Saxena, A. (2023). An empirical investigation of retail investors’ sentiments: Role of demographics. International Journal of Professional Business Review, 8(11). https://doi.org/10.26668/businessreview/2023.v8i11.3748

Baker, H. K., & Ricciardi, V. (2014). Investor behavior: The psychology of financial planning and investing. Wiley Finance.

Banerjee, A. V. (1992). A simple model of herd behavior. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(3), 797–817. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118364

Bikhchandani, S., Hirshleifer, D., & Welch, I. (1998). Learning from the behavior of others: Conformity, fads, and informational cascades. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 12(3), 151–170. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.12.3.151

Bodenberger, R., & Thommes, K. (2025). Words or numbers? How framing uncertainties affects risk assessment and decision-making. arXiv. https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.06241

Cerulli Associates. (2024). To combat investor biases, financial advisors should consider behavioral financial advice solutions. Cerulli Research.

Chen, W., Ishfaq, M., Ashraf, S. F., Sarfaraz, L., & Wang, M. (2022). Mediating role of optimism bias and risk perception between emotional intelligence and decision-making: A serial mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 890425. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.890425

Cherry, K. (2024). What is the framing effect? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-framing-effect-2796044

Cialdini, R. B. (2009). Influence: Science and practice (5th ed.). Pearson.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage Publications.

Dhingra, P., & Garg, R. (2024). The role of behavioral finance in investment decision-making: A conceptual study of Indian investors. International Journal of Research in Finance and Management, 7(1), 585–590. https://doi.org/10.33545/26175754.2024.v7.i1f.461

Evans, J. St. B. T. (2008). Dual-processing accounts of reasoning, judgment, and social cognition. Annual Review of Psychology, 59, 255–278. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.59.103006.093629

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.2307/3151312

Furnham, A., & Boo, H. C. (2011). A literature review of the anchoring effect. Journal of Socio-Economics, 40(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2010.10.008

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis (7th ed.). Pearson Education.

Hair, J. F., Hult, G. T. M., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2019). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) (2nd ed.). Sage.

Henseler, J., Ringle, C. M., & Sarstedt, M. (2015). A new criterion for assessing discriminant validity in variance-based structural equation modeling. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(1), 115–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0403-8

Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1974). Judgment under uncertainty: Heuristics and biases. Science, 185(4157), 1124–1131. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.185.4157.1124

Khan, H. (2020). Use anger to guide your stock market decision-making: Results from Pakistan. Cogent Economics & Finance, 8(1), 1733279. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2020.1733279

Ladeira, W. J., de Almeida, S. O., & de Almeida, M. I. S. (2023). A meta-analysis on the effects of product scarcity. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 22(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1002/cb.2041

Loewenstein, G., Weber, E. U., Hsee, C. K., & Welch, N. (2001). Risk as feelings. Psychological Bulletin, 127(2), 267–286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.267

Sahu, T. N., Sarkar, A. K., & Pandey, K. D. (2021). Investment behaviour of retail investors based on individual heterogeneity and psychological biases. Artha Vijnana, 63(3), 310–325. https://doi.org/10.21648/arthavij/2021/v63/i3/210631

Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students (8th ed.). Pearson.

SEBI. (2022). Investor survey report. Securities and Exchange Board of India. https://www.sebi.gov.in

Singru, A., & Chopra, Z. (2021). Investigating Indian retail investor behavior through the lens of prospect theory. Journal of Student Research, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i4.2476

Sowmya, T. S., & Muralidhar, S. (2024). Behavioral biases and investment decisions among male and female retail investors in India. ShodhKosh: Journal of Visual and Performing Arts, 5(3), 983–991. https://doi.org/10.29121/shodhkosh.v5.i3.2024.3558

Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1981). The framing of decisions and the psychology of choice. Science, 211(4481), 453–458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7455683

Zhang, Y., Li, X., & Wang, Y. (2022). The impact of scarcity on consumers’ impulse buying based on the S-O-R theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 792419. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.792419

Downloads

Published

2026-03-26

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2026): International Journal of Management Research & Innovation

Section

Articles

Categories

License

Copyright (c) 2026 International Journal of Management Research & Innovation

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The International Journal of Management Research & Innovation (IJMRI) is an open access journal dedicated to the free and unrestricted dissemination of scholarly research. All content published in IJMRI is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated. This policy promotes knowledge sharing while protecting authors' rights and ensuring proper attribution. By submitting to IJMRI, authors agree to these terms.

1. Open Access and Licensing Overview

  • Gold Open Access: All articles are immediately available upon publication without embargo, ensuring global accessibility.
  • License Choice: Standard license is CC BY 4.0, allowing others to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the work for any purpose, including commercial, as long as appropriate credit is given to the original authors.
  • Alternatives: Authors may request a CC BY-NC 4.0 (non-commercial) variant for specific concerns; approval is at the editor's discretion.
  • Applicability: Applies to original articles, reviews, case studies, and supplementary materials. Data sets may use CC0 for public domain dedication.

This approach aligns with Plan S and cOAlition S principles, maximizing research impact and reuse.

2. Author Rights and Responsibilities

  • Copyright Retention: Authors retain full copyright ownership of their work. IJMRI does not require transfer of copyright.
  • Grant of License: Authors grant IJMRI a non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to publish, archive, and distribute the work in all formats and media, including print, digital, and derivative works.
  • Attribution: Authors must be credited in all uses, e.g., "© [Author Names], [Year], licensed under CC BY 4.0."
  • Moral Rights: Authors retain rights to be identified as the creator and object to derogatory treatment of the work.
  • Self-Archiving: Authors may deposit pre-prints in repositories (e.g., SSRN, arXiv) and post-prints in institutional archives at any time.

3. User Rights and Obligations

  • Permitted Uses: Under CC BY 4.0, users may:
    • Read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to full texts.
    • Use excerpts in teaching, presentations, or derivative works (e.g., translations, adaptations).
    • Share via social media, blogs, or commercial platforms, provided attribution is included.
  • Required Attribution: Every reuse must include:
    • Author names, article title, journal name (IJMRI), volume/issue/page numbers, DOI, and license notice.
    • Example: "Smith, J. et al. (2025). Innovation in Management. International Journal of Management Research & Innovation, 1(1), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1234/ijmri.2025.1.1.1. Licensed under CC BY 4.0."
  • Prohibited Uses: No endorsement implied; users must not misrepresent the work or imply affiliation with IJMRI without permission.

4. Publication Agreement

Upon acceptance, authors will receive a simple License Agreement via email or OJS portal:

  • Signing: Digital signature required; one per corresponding author.
  • Content: Confirms CC BY 4.0 application, data sharing commitments, and conflict disclosures.
  • Embargo: None; immediate open access post-proofing.

For multi-author works, the corresponding author acts on behalf of all, ensuring co-author consent.

5. Third-Party Materials

  • Permissions: Authors are responsible for obtaining rights to include third-party content (e.g., images, quotes) and must provide evidence if requested.
  • Waivers: Fair use/dealing provisions apply where applicable; otherwise, materials must be open-licensed or cleared.
  • IJMRI Materials: Our logos, templates, and metadata are copyrighted; contact for reuse.

6. Archiving and Preservation

  • Long-Term Access: Content is archived in Portico, LOCKSS, and CLOCKSS for perpetual availability.
  • DOIs: Assigned via Crossref for persistent linking.
  • Versioning: Final published versions are authoritative; earlier versions may be linked but not substituted.

7. Fees and Funding

  • No Publication Fees: Article Processing Charges (APCs) are waived for 2025 volumes; from 2026, $1,200 (with waivers for low/middle-income countries via Research4Life).
  • License Implications: Fees support open access infrastructure, not profit.

8. Changes to These Terms

IJMRI may revise these terms to reflect legal or operational needs. Updates will be posted on our website with the new effective date. Continued use or submission after changes implies acceptance. Authors of existing works are unaffected unless re-licensing is mutually agreed.

9. Contact Us

For questions about licensing, permissions, or agreements, contact: Editorial Office International Journal of Management Research & Innovation Email: journal@arirdc.org .

We encourage open reuse of our content to advance management research and innovation. Thank you for supporting ethical, accessible scholarship.

 

How to Cite

Mediation Effect of Behavioral Marketing Cues on Investment Choices of Retail Investors In Chennai. (2026). International Journal of Management Research & Innovation, 1(1), 21-45. https://doi.org/10.66210/83yggg58