Income shock and financial well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic: financial resilience and psychological resilience as mediators
International Journal of Bank Marketing
ISSN: 0265-2323
Article publication date: 15 May 2023
Issue publication date: 20 June 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between income shock suffered during the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent financial well-being (FWB) of Indian adults, mediated by financial resilience (FR) and psychological resilience (PR).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors propose a conceptual model for the relationship between income shock and FWB, with FR and PR as mediator variables. The authors consider four dimensions of financial resilience: economic resources, financial inclusion, financial knowledge and social capital. This study uses a unidimensional scale for PR. Data were collected from 370 respondents from 11 cities across India. Structural equation models were built to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
Income shock was negatively associated with FWB. Estimated path coefficients for FR and PR were statistically significant and confirmed a mediating role. Among the four dimensions of financial resilience, only economic resources were positively associated with FWB. The mediation relation between economic resources and FWB was larger than PR.
Research limitations/implications
Since convenience sampling was used to collect data, the results of this study are indicative but not generalizable.
Social implications
For individuals who suffered income shocks during the pandemic, adequate economic resources are crucial for FWB. Governmental disbursements, personal savings and medical or life insurance could provide an adequate safety net.
Originality/value
There are no extant studies that examine the association between income shocks and FWB in the pandemic, and this study contributes to the literature.
Keywords
Citation
Kulshreshtha, A., Raju, S., Muktineni, S.M. and Chatterjee, D. (2023), "Income shock and financial well-being in the COVID-19 pandemic: financial resilience and psychological resilience as mediators", International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 1037-1058. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJBM-08-2022-0342
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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