Do religious and conscious investors make better economic decisions? Evidence from India

Abstract

Investment decision-making in India is different from the world and is affected by social settings. Religion lies at the core of the prevailing socio-cultural environment strengthening social-norms and belief-system, while consciousness is considered core ingredient of life which improves awareness beyond the physical plane, not attributable to cortical processes. Although socio-cultural influence on economic behaviour is quite discernible in countries following eastern-religious traditions, yet studies examining its impact on decision efficacy are scant. Present research addresses this and explores causal role of religiosity and consciousness in shaping investor’s intuitive and analytical abilities.Following a multi-step procedure with qualitative procedure – using engaged scholarship of experts in participative research model and quantitative assessment – surveying investors, the role of these innate behavioural variables in investment decision making has been examined. The paper also validates ambidextrous decision-making style in investment efficacy where intuition improves analytical thinking which further enhances investment efficacy.