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:: Volume 10, Issue 19 (2025) ::
aapc 2025, 10(19): 205-245 Back to browse issues page
The Impact of Financial Knowledge on Individual Investors’ Willingness to Undertake High-Risk Investments: Mediating Role of Key Elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Moderating Role of Risk Tolerance
Mahdi Saghafi *1 , Sahar Yousefizadeh2 , Fatemeh Piri3
1- Assistant Professor, Department of Accounting, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. (Corresponding Author) , saghafi.mahdi@pnu.ac.ir
2- Ph.D. in Accounting, Department of Accounting, ‎ Ilam University, Ilam, Iran.‎ saharyousefizadeh@yahoo.com
3- MSc. in Accounting, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran. f.piri1374@yahoo.com
Abstract:   (420 Views)
In emerging financial markets such as Iran, investment decisions are largely influenced by cognitive, social, and psychological factors. Therefore, it is essential to identify and analyze the elements that can enhance the quality of decision-making and the financial advisory process, creating a basis for better investment decisions. Accordingly, the present study aims to examine the effects of financial knowledge and the core components of the Theory of Planned Behavior (namely, financial attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) on individual shareholders’ intention to engage in high-risk investments on the Tehran Stock Exchange in 2024, with a focus on the moderating role of risk tolerance.
The study sample consisted of 384 individual shareholders, selected through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling in SmartPLS. The findings indicate that financial knowledge significantly and directly strengthens individual shareholders’ financial attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In addition, financial knowledge indirectly increases investors’ willingness to undertake high-risk investments by reinforcing these cognitive and behavioral constructs.
Furthermore, risk tolerance acts as a moderating variable, intensifying the effect of subjective norms on the intention to invest in high-risk assets; however, it does not moderate the relationships between financial attitude or perceived behavioral control and high-risk investment intention. Overall, the results suggest that enhancing financial knowledge, fostering positive financial attitudes, increasing perceived behavioral control, and taking into account differences in risk tolerance can better prepare investors for informed decision-making in high-risk contexts. These insights have practical implications for financial advisors, educational planners, and policymakers in the capital market.
 
Keywords: Financial Knowledge, Attitude Toward Financial Behavior, Subjective Norms, Perceived Behavioral Control, Risk Tolerance, Individual Investors.
Full-Text [PDF 1959 kb]   (66 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Research | Subject: Special
Received: 2025/07/19 | Accepted: 2025/09/22 | Published: 2026/05/6
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Saghafi M, Yousefizadeh S, Piri F. The Impact of Financial Knowledge on Individual Investors’ Willingness to Undertake High-Risk Investments: Mediating Role of Key Elements of the Theory of Planned Behavior and Moderating Role of Risk Tolerance. aapc 2025; 10 (19) :205-245
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Volume 10, Issue 19 (2025) Back to browse issues page
دوفصلنامه علمی حسابداری ارزشی و رفتاری journal of Value & Behavioral Accounting
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