Influence of level of assurance, assurance provider type, and investors’ personality in greenhouse gases reporting for social responsible investment

Abstract

Purpose The study aims to evaluate how different types of assurors and investors’ Big Five personality traits affect the relationship between levels of assurance for Greenhouse Gas (GHG) reporting and individual investors' decision-making in social responsible investment (SRI). Design/methodology/approach This study adopted an experimental approach with 315 individual investors as participants. Findings The results show that there are some differences in the individual investors’ decision-making. Accountants are the preferred assuror. Type of assuror and level of assurance for GHG reporting affect investors’ decision-making, in the presence of different levels of investors’ personality traits, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism. However, individual investors with different levels of agreeableness do not have similar influence. Originality/value This study extends the literature on individual investors’ decision-making in socially responsible investment by examining the combination of the type of assuror, level of assurance and investors’ personality traits. This study also observes three different assurors, accountants, engineers and specialists and four different assurance levels – reasonable, hybrid, limited and not specified.