Why Do Consumers Purchase Further Financial Services? Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

Certain dysfunctions of the financial service market are the consequence of poor consumer decisions influenced by emotions or unfair marketing practices. Understanding the mechanisms of such decisions may increase the effectiveness of consumer protection measures. To identify determinants of the decision to purchase another financial service, we conducted a pilot study using a CAWI (Computer-Assisted Web Interview) survey on 200 respondents. As expected, socio-demographic determinants cannot fully explain consumer behaviour in the financial service market. Therefore, to interpret the results, we employed Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour, which describes the influence of psychological factors (i.e., social norms, attitudes and perceived control) on consumer behaviour. To our knowledge, this approach has not been applied in the literature on consumer decisions in the financial service market. Our results show that the intention to purchase a new financial service is predominantly determined by social norms. The influence of other factors (i.e., attitudes and sense of control) is important but can largely be explained by norms. The level of financial education and awareness of consumer rights may be negligible on respondents’ intentions. This finding may imply that consumer protection institutions must change their approaches. Promoting only financial education is probably insufficient, and additional effort is necessary to promote the desired change in social norms.