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Is sin always a sin? The interaction effect of social norms and financial incentives on market participants’ behavior

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  • Liu, Yanju
  • Lu, Hai
  • Veenstra, Kevin

Abstract

Using alcohol, tobacco, and gaming consumption data and people’s attitudes toward these sin products to proxy for social norm acceptance levels, we show a strong interaction effect between social norms and financial incentives, which significantly influence the behavior of market participants. Specifically, institutional investors’ shareholdings and analyst coverage of sin companies increase with the degree of social norm acceptance. The association between shareholdings/coverage and social norm acceptance is less pronounced for firms with higher future expected performance. Our results show that social norms and financial incentives have a powerful interaction effect in determining the behavior of market participants, suggesting that social norms can be crossed when motive and opportunity exist.

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  • Liu, Yanju & Lu, Hai & Veenstra, Kevin, 2014. "Is sin always a sin? The interaction effect of social norms and financial incentives on market participants’ behavior," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 289-307.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:aosoci:v:39:y:2014:i:4:p:289-307
    DOI: 10.1016/j.aos.2014.04.001
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    6. Cai, Chen & Wang, Jinjing, 2023. "Does military leadership regulate sin investments? Evidence from property/casualty insurance industry," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
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    10. Steven F. Cahan & Chen Chen & Li Chen, 2021. "Do local social norms affect investors’ involvement in social activism? Revisiting the case of US institutional investors," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1957-1992, April.
    11. Kanagaretnam, Kiridaran & Lee, Jimmy & Lim, Chee Yeow & Lobo, Gerald J., 2022. "Trusting the stock market: Further evidence from IPOs around the world," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
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