The role of financial advice and word-of-mouth communication on the association between investor personality and stock trading behavior: Evidence from Chinese stock market

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the strength of association between investor personality traits and stock trading behavior is sensitive to the key sources of information used by investors as the basis for their financial choices. The study utilized the Big Five personality framework from Costa & McCrae (1992) and examined the data collected from 541 individual investors in Chinese stock market. We provide empirical evidence that the key sources of information moderate the relationship of the Big five personality traits and stock trading behavior. Investors with openness and neuroticism traits trade stocks more frequently when they acquire information from financial advice whereas extraverted and conscientious investors trade stocks less intensively when they use financial advice. Investors with extraversion and agreeableness traits trade stocks more intensively when they acquire information via word-of-mouth communication. Open minded, conscientious and neurotic investors adjust their portfolio less frequently as a result of social interaction. No previous study has been conducted so far exploring variations in the impact of the Big Five investor personality traits on stock trading behavior by the key sources of information and this paper strives to fill this gap in Chinese stock market.