Drivers of long-term savings behavior from the consumers’ perspective

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to delineate the impact of social context and savings attitudes on consumers’ self-reported long-term savings and discuss how these drivers can be influenced to increase an individual’s savings rate. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was conducted among 993 German savers. A structural equation model quantified the influence of the social context and an individual’s attitudes on long-term savings behavior, as stated by consumers. Findings – Both social context constructs – subjective norms and relationship quality – exert a significant influence on the savings attitudes of perceived anxiety and perceived importance, which in turn significantly affect long-term savings. Furthermore, the results of a mediation analysis indicated that the social context only has an indirect effect on long-term savings. Research limitations/implications – The study was conducted in Germany only. Therefore, the results may not apply across cultures. In addition, the salient belief structures, access channels used, and savings product categories were not part of this study. Practical implications – The results showed that financial institutions can influence an individual’s attitudes toward long-term savings by providing a satisfying and trusted relationship. The positive effect on savings attitudes will translate to an increased long-term savings rate. According to the analysis, financial service providers can only have an indirect effect on long-term savings behavior. Originality/value – This paper delineates the impact of the social environment on long-term savings. This relationship has not been investigated in previous research. In addition, the influence of the social context within the attitudes-behavior framework for long-term savings is expounded.

Applying the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in Saving Behaviour of Pomak Households

“…As a result, the intention to save depicts an important process to final saving behaviour (Ruefenacht et al, 2015). In several TPB studies, behavioural intention is considered as a proxy measure of likely behaviour (e.g., Phillips & Jang, 2012;Sparks & Pan, 2009;Wang & Ritchie, 2013).…”

Factors Influencing Savings Rate in Malaysia

“…The result also reveals that there is a positive relationship between interest rate and savings rate. In a rather limited study conducted only in Germany Ruefenacht, Schlager, Maas, and Puustinen (2015) documented perceived importance of societal norms to have a positive influence on savings attitudes among the 3,800 individual respondents in the 16 states of the country.…”

“…In a recent study by Ruefenacht, Schlager, Maas, and Puustinen (2015), societal norms and values -defined as the interaction between the individual and his or her environment, friends and family -were discovered to influence long-term savings attitudes on individual consumers. The authors drew this conclusion based on 3,800 filled-out surveys returned by targeted respondents in 16 states of Germany.…”

Predicting Private Saving Within Malay Community

“…Bandura (1982) explained that efficacy involves a generative capability in which cognitive, social, and behavioural skills components are to be integrated to serve innumerable purposes. Based on the review of past literatures, this study found five theories that were recommended in financial decision-making which are individual characteristics (Gutter & Copur, 2011;Hullgren & Soderberg, 2013), self-efficacy (Farrel et al, 2016), cognitive (Boyle et al, 2013;Estelami, 2009;Okonkwo, Wadley, Griffith, Ball, & Marson, 2006), socialisation (Hira et al, 2013;Shim, Barber, Card, Xiao, & Serido, 2010;Ruefenacht et al, 2015), and religious faith (Baxomusa & Jalal, 2014;Keister, 2008).…”

“…Despite, very little attention has been given to household micro-data with detailed household characteristics in past literature (Abildgren, 2016;Ruefenacht, Schlager, Mass, & Puustinen, 2015). The life-cycle model had been widely used in past literature in understanding private saving (Ruefenacht et al, 2015), however, life-cycle model at times failed to explain aspects of private saving (Brounen et al, 2016;Eriksson & Hermansson, 2014;Jan & Lin, 2014;Lown, Kim, Gutter, & Hunt, 2015). Thus, more theories had been adopted in past literature to understand private saving beyond life-cycle model.…”