Social Media Influence on ESG Investment Intentions: Herding Effects Among Young Investors

The rapid growth of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing has coincided with the increasing reliance of young investors on social media for financial decision-making. While digital platforms and financial influencers ("finfluencers") accelerate information dissemination, limited empirical work explains how digital cues interact with psychological biases in emerging markets. Drawing upon the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Social Influence Theory, this conceptual study proposes a framework to investigate the effect of social media exposure on ESG investment intentions among young retail investors in Malaysia, while examining herding behavior as a moderating mechanism. The proposed framework outlines a quantitative cross-sectional research design utilizing Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to test the structural relationships. The paper provides theoretical insights into the convergence of digital media dynamics, psychological biases, and sustainable finance in emerging markets, offering practical implications for policymakers, financial institutions, and regulators.