From Climate Risk Awareness to Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior: the roles of climate disclosure quality, trust, and greenwashing risk
- 1epartment of Commerce, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract
InroductionThe present study examines the factors influencing climate-conscious investment behavior among middle-income retail investors in six major metropolitan cities in India using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Signaling theory.MethodsData were collected from 576 middle-income retail investors.ResultsThe findings indicate that Climate Risk Awareness and Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality were positively associated with Trust in Climate Disclosures, which was subsequently associated with Climate-Conscious Investment Attitude, Climate-Conscious Investment Intention, and self-reported Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior, with Perceived Greenwashing Risk acting as a moderator.DiscussionThe study advances the field of behavioral climate finance by separating Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality as an information-related stimulus from Climate Risk Awareness as an investor-level cognitive antecedent and demonstrates the interplay of trust, attitude, and intention that leads to climate-conscious investment behavior. The results offer valuable guidance for regulators, corporations and financial institutions aiming to foster the adoption of Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior among urban retail investors.
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BibTeX
@article{vijayananth2026from,
title = {{From Climate Risk Awareness to Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior: the roles of climate disclosure quality, trust, and greenwashing risk}},
author = {M. Vijayananth and R. Muthu Sundari and N. Saravanabhavan},
journal = {Frontiers in Climate},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fclim.2026.1984092},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1984092},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - From Climate Risk Awareness to Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior: the roles of climate disclosure quality, trust, and greenwashing risk
AU - M. Vijayananth
AU - R. Muthu Sundari
AU - N. Saravanabhavan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Frontiers in Climate
DO - 10.3389/fclim.2026.1984092
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2026.1984092
AB - InroductionThe present study examines the factors influencing climate-conscious investment behavior among middle-income retail investors in six major metropolitan cities in India using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S–O–R) framework, Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Signaling theory.MethodsData were collected from 576 middle-income retail investors.ResultsThe findings indicate that Climate Risk Awareness and Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality were positively associated with Trust in Climate Disclosures, which was subsequently associated with Climate-Conscious Investment Attitude, Climate-Conscious Investment Intention, and self-reported Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior, with Perceived Greenwashing Risk acting as a moderator.DiscussionThe study advances the field of behavioral climate finance by separating Perceived Climate Disclosure Quality as an information-related stimulus from Climate Risk Awareness as an investor-level cognitive antecedent and demonstrates the interplay of trust, attitude, and intention that leads to climate-conscious investment behavior. The results offer valuable guidance for regulators, corporations and financial institutions aiming to foster the adoption of Climate-Conscious Investment Behavior among urban retail investors.
SN - 2624-9553
ER -