Behavioral determinants of cryptocurrency adoption during financial collapse: Evidence from Lebanon

IF 7.6 2区经济学 Q1 BUSINESS, FINANCE

International Review of Economics & Finance Pub Date : 2026-04-01 Epub Date: 2026-03-27 DOI:10.1016/j.iref.2026.105165

Dani Aoun , Chris Youssef , Nada Jabbour Al Maalouf

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Abstract

This study examines the behavioral determinants of cryptocurrency adoption in Lebanon, utilizing the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) during the country's severe financial crisis, marked by hyperinflation, capital controls, and widespread institutional distrust. The study provides an interpretive extension of TPB, using Resilience Theory to explain how crisis conditions reweigh the relative strength of TPB pathways, rather than changing its structural constructs. Using survey data from 207 respondents and structural equation modeling, the findings reveal that subjective norms are positively associated with adoption intention, closely followed by attitude. Perceived behavioral control shows a weaker but significant association. Multi-group analysis indicates that neither age nor gender significantly moderates those associations. The results suggest that, under systemic financial collapse, cryptocurrency adoption is socially embedded and necessity-driven rather than purely innovation-oriented or speculative. By contextualizing TPB within a crisis environment, this study offers a resilience-informed interpretation of digital finance adoption and provides insights for policymakers and fintech developers operating in fragile economic systems.

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金融崩溃期间加密货币采用的行为决定因素：来自黎巴嫩的证据

本研究在黎巴嫩严重的金融危机期间，利用计划行为理论（TPB），研究了黎巴嫩采用加密货币的行为决定因素，其特征是恶性通货膨胀、资本管制和普遍的机构不信任。该研究提供了TPB的解释性扩展，使用弹性理论来解释危机条件如何重新衡量TPB路径的相对强度，而不是改变其结构结构。通过对207名被调查者的调查数据和结构方程建模，发现主观规范与采用意愿呈正相关，其次是态度。感知行为控制表现出较弱但显著的关联。多组分析表明，年龄和性别都没有显著调节这些关联。结果表明，在系统性金融崩溃的情况下，加密货币的采用是社会嵌入和需求驱动的，而不是纯粹以创新为导向或投机。通过将TPB置于危机环境中，本研究提供了对数字金融采用的弹性知情解释，并为在脆弱经济系统中运营的政策制定者和金融科技开发商提供了见解。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

International Review of Economics & Finance Multiple-

CiteScore

7.30

自引率

2.20%

发文量

253

期刊介绍： The International Review of Economics & Finance (IREF) is a scholarly journal devoted to the publication of high quality theoretical and empirical articles in all areas of international economics, macroeconomics and financial economics. Contributions that facilitate the communications between the real and the financial sectors of the economy are of particular interest.