Essays in corporate finance : an analysis of stock market investment patterns in emerging countries from a behavioral and a traditional perspective

Abstract

This thesis investigates the investment patterns in emerging stock markets first from a behavioral then from a traditional perspective. The first two chapters deal with affective motivations in the stock investment decision. First, we develop the hypothesis concerning the affect-based investment motivations in the stock markets and the role of affective self-affinity. Based on Social Identity Theory, Affect literature, Socially Responsible Investing literature and Home Bias literature, we propose that identification with different dimensions of a company may trigger affect-based extra investment motivation. The following chapter tests the hypotheses developed in the first chapter using partial least squares path analysis with Turkish stock investors. We conclude that the ideas of socially responsible investing and nationalism have significant positive effects on the investment motivation. Likewise, the people and the groups that the investors identify themselves with have significant positive effects on the affect-based motivations to invest in the companies, which are perceived to support those people and groups. The last chapter, studies the return patterns in MENA stock markets during the Arab Spring events in an event study setting. Considering the three-year period of 2010- 2013, we study the effects of 172 events on the stock markets of nine countries in the region, namely; Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Tunisia. Using Brown and Warner (1985) event study methodology, we have found some events have relatively large effects, though we cannot find significant reactions on the average. Hence, we cannot conclude that stock markets react significantly to the events during Arab Spring.