Abstract
In the previous chapter we highlighted the important growth experienced by SRI especially remarkable after the 2008 financial crisis. In this context of growth it is important to know the profile of the important emerging group of investors willing to invest with social responsibility criteria, especially in countries like Spain, where this kind of investment is still marginal compared with countries like Australia which has a long SRI tradition. This chapter presents the results from a study designed to examine financial preferences, social, environmental, governance and ethical concerns and, socio-demographic characteristics and motivation of socially responsible investors. Based on an international online survey we analyse the degree of influence of a number of socio-demographic variables on the propensity for being a socially responsible investor. The study can be of great value for marketing researchers, institutional investors and fund managers attempting to identify those investors more receptive to SRI products. The information can also be used by advertising researchers to develop effective advertising campaigns.
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Notes
- 1.
This chapter is closely related to and heavily based on Pérez-Gladish et al. (2012) published in the Australian Journal of Management.
- 2.
Janice Carpenter is a Senior Financial Advisor at Ethical Investment Services. Janice is recognised as a key proponent of ethical investment in Australia. She has held a position on the board of the Australian Bush Heritage Trust and was Joint founding President of the Ethical Investment Association.
- 3.
We acknowledge that there could be a sample selection bias. Investors who are committed to SRI are more likely to respond. Given that the focus of our study is to profile this group, selection bias is not likely to present a major problem for us.
- 4.
18,941.00 € (source: http://stats.oecde.org).
- 5.
Less than 500,000 inhabitants and located more than an hour drive away from a big or medium-sized city.
- 6.
Above 2.5 million inhabitants.
- 7.
Less than 500,000 inhabitants and located less than an hour drive away from a big or medium-sized city.
- 8.
They were asked to pick a value from a scale ranging from 1 (not important) to 5 (essential) and average values were calculated for all factors in order to establish the order of importance.
- 9.
The RIAA is an industry body for professionals working in responsible investment in Australia and New Zealand. RIAA helps individuals and organizations learn more about how they can make investment choices and take environmental, social, ethical or governance issues into account, in addition to the more conventional focus on financial objectives.
- 10.
A copy of the survey questions is available from the authors upon request.
- 11.
We acknowledge that there could be a sample selection bias. Investors who are committed to SRI are more likely to respond. Given that the focus of our study is to profile this group, selection bias is not likely to present a major problem for us.
- 12.
Annual Average income $42,983. Source: http://stats.oecd.org
- 13.
Regression diagnostics on all specifications indicate rejection of normality. Given this situation, the choice of Huber/White covariance provides robust estimates with respect to general misspecification of the conditional distribution of the dependent variable.
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Méndez-Rodrı́guez, P., Galguera, L., Bravo, M., Benson, K., Faff, R., Pérez-Gladish, B. (2015). Profiling Ethical Investors. In: Ballestero, E., Pérez-Gladish, B., Garcia-Bernabeu, A. (eds) Socially Responsible Investment. International Series in Operations Research & Management Science, vol 219. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11836-9_2
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