Stock market literacy and investment motivations: Tri-layer market analysis of stock market participation

Bridging the gap between stock market literacy and active participation is the ultimate objective for institutions and policymakers globally, due to its ability to promote inclusive economic growth. In light of this, the study intended to assess the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on stock market literacy leading to participation. Further, an attempt was made to analyze the intervening role of investment decision and the moderating role of Tri-Layer Market Analysis. With the descriptive design, a survey questionnaire was used to gather data for this investigation, collecting responses from 376 commerce and management students across government, private, and deemed universities between June and July 2024 from the region of Karnataka, India. Following the data collection, statistical techniques, such as regression analysis, one-way Analysis of Variance, and structural equation modelling, were applied to evaluate intrinsic and extrinsic motivation’s direct and indirect impacts on students’ stock market participation. As per the results, the Intrinsic (β =.361, t = 8.416, p = 0.000) and External Motivations (β =.422, t = 9.816, p = 0.000) substantially impact stock market literacy that ultimately impacts investment decision making (β = .450, t = 9.761, p = 0.000) and stock market participation (β =.207, t = 4.495, p = 0.000). The results also validate the intervening role of investment decision in the relationship between stock market literacy and stock market participation (indirect effect: .131).