Analyzing causal relationships of effective factors on the decision making of individual investors to purchase shares

Purpose - Changes in economic markets have made it necessary to understand the psychology of individual investors. Conducting effective studies on the decision of investors to buy stock in the stock market can be useful. Therefore, it is necessary to identify and prioritize the factors affecting the decision-making of investors to purchase shares of the stock exchange. The purpose of this study was to analyze causal relationships and to weight effective factors on individual investment to purchase shares of Tehran Stock Exchange. Design/methodology/approach - The present study is applied research in the term of its purposes and a descriptive-survey one in the term of data gathering methods. The data required in this study was collected through library and field studies. The study population included 35 investment experts. In present study, multi-criteria decision-making techniques in type-2 fuzzy environments have been used to analyze the causal relationships and weighing the factors affecting individual investment in purchasing stock in the stock market. Findings - In the study, 4 indicators and 20 sub-indicators influencing individual investors’ decision to purchase shares of Tehran Stock Exchange were selected based on the literature review in the field of investment in the stock exchange, as well as interviews with experts. Analyzing the opinions of experts showed that they have much paid attention to financial index compare to the economic, political and psychological indicators of the market in determining the priority of indicators. In analyzing sub-indicators, it was identified that Iranian investors pay special attention to economic and political developments, political news and international economic developments. Research limitations/implications - The present study has been carried out in Iran, and therefore, is geographically limited to Iran. In thematic terms, it is limited to effective factors of individual investments in Tehran Stock Exchange. The statistical population of present study was limited to investing experts in Tehran Stock Exchange. The difference in financial, economic, social and political conditions of individuals was another limitation of present study. The main consequences of research were the explanation of causes of investors’ higher attention to financial factors than economic, political and mental factors of market in buying stocks. Originality/value - Given the uncertainty in the market status, using multi-criteria decision-making techniques in financial analysis can help decision-makers to make better decisions. In addition, it would be possible to take into account many variables that do not have a mathematical aspect but are important in decision-making and lead to increased decision-making satisfaction. The research initially analyzed causal relationships of determinants of individual investment on stock exchange for buying stocks through a type-2 fuzzy approach.