The measurement of fraud perception of investors and the mediating effect of risk aversion: the case of crypto assets
International Journal of Accounting & Information Management
ISSN: 1834-7649
Article publication date: 6 August 2024
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to gain a new perspective on auditing by measuring investors’ fraud perception and to reveal the necessity of increasing individuals’ fraud perception by determining the effect of fraud perception on the intention to invest in crypto assets from the investor’s perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
As part of this quantitative research, a survey was conducted on individuals residing in Türkiye and aged 18 years and above through a convenience sampling method. A total of 446 participants were included in the study. The data collected was analyzed using the partial least squares-variance based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method using the SmartPLS program.
Findings
Fraud perception causes individuals to be more risk-averse and reduces their intention to invest in crypto assets. At the same time, it has been observed that risk-averse individuals have lower intention to invest in crypto assets. According to the results of the mediating effect analysis, risk aversion behavior partially mediates between the fraud perception and the intention to invest in crypto assets. Among the emotions, only fear increases risk aversion behavior. Among the personality traits, extroversion and openness to experience personality traits reduce risk aversion behavior, whereas neuroticism personality traits increase the intention to invest in crypto assets.
Originality/value
In an environment where traditional auditing activities are insufficient, increasing investors’ perceptions of fraud can reduce fraud-related losses. In this context, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study might be among the first to investigate the impact of individuals’ perceptions of fraud on their investment intentions in crypto assets.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This study is produced from the doctoral dissertation, which was completed by Musa Özçelik under the supervision of Prof Dr Ganite Kurt in the Institute of Graduate Studies of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, and entitled “Yatırımcı açısından hile algısının ölçümü ve riskten kaçınma davranışının aracılık rolü: Kripto varlık örneği/Measuring the fraud perception for the investor and mediating role of risk aversion behavior: The case of crypto assets” with thesis number 799879. Necessary ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University.
Compliance with ethical standards: The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. Ethics committee approval has been obtained for the survey study. It can be made available upon request. No funding was received for conducting this study.
Citation
Özçelik, M. and Kurt, G. (2024), "The measurement of fraud perception of investors and the mediating effect of risk aversion: the case of crypto assets", International Journal of Accounting & Information Management, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJAIM-02-2024-0051
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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