Financial Literacy and Investment Decisions in Türkiye: The Mediating Role of Peer Influence and the Moderating Effect of Financial Status

Abstract

This paper focuses on the role of financial literacy in the investment choice in the Turkish context, where the focus is on the mediating role of peer sanctions and the moderating role of the financial status of the investee. Driven by the Theory of Planned Behavior, financial literacy is described as a complex construct, composed of behavioral competencies and digital competencies. The study follows a quantitative and cross-sectional approach, and is based on a random sample of 500 working adults that has been generated using a stratified sampling design in order to reflect demographic and occupational diversity. Structural equation modeling, as implemented in AMOS, was used to evaluate theoretical models in terms of writing quality and model robustness. The findings reveal that behavioral and digital financial literacy are both valid predictors of investment choices, influencing their effects directly and indirectly through peer pressure. Peer-influence mediates these relationships, emphasizing the importance of social relationships in transforming financial learning into investment behavior. Using a nationally representative panel dataset, we defined a powerful moderating effect of financial status, showing that investors with higher economic resources have a greater ability to apply financial literacy and peer networks to investment. The model accounts for 36.9% of the variance of investment decision, and the derived model demonstrates good reliability and validity among constructs. The contribution of this research is that the literature will be enriched by digits that represent digital behavioral aspects of consumer financial literacy that are used in the real social and economic context of the consumer. This report highlights the need for policy and educational interventions that can support financial literacy and can be instrumental in closing system inequities that continue to limit access to mainstream financial markets.