ERIC Number: ED548815
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 159
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 978-1-2676-8237-6
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Factors Related to Choosing between the Internet and a Financial Planner
Son, Jiyeon
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University
In this dissertation, I aim to clarify the factors affecting a consumers' choice between the Internet and a financial planner for making saving and investment decisions, based on household production theory. Moreover, I explore the likelihood of an individual being an Internet user (vs. a non-user), a financial planner user (vs. a non-user), a mixed user (vs. a non-user), an Internet user (vs. a mixed user) or a financial planner user (vs. a mixed user). First, using the data from the combined set of 2001, 2004, and 2007 Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF), I investigated the proportion of U.S. households using the Internet, a financial planner, both, or neither. I found that Internet usage for making saving and investment decisions grew from 12% in 2001 to 20% in 2007. In contrast, financial planner usage statistics for the same purpose slightly decreased during the same period, from 18% to 15%. More interestingly, the proportion of mixed users, who use the Internet in addition to a financial planner, increased from 4% to 7%. Extending these results to multivariate analyses, I tested whether or not time constraints, monetary constraints, and human resource constraints affect a consumer's choice between using the Internet and a financial planner. I found that monetary constraints and human resource constraints affected consumer decisions in choosing between the Internet and a financial planner, which supports household production theory. Unlike my hypothesis, however, time constraints (e.g., working hours per week, presence of a young child under the age of 5) did not bear any significant relationship in making a choice between the Internet and a financial planner. Moreover, the effects of time constraints were not found to be significant on the likelihood of being an Internet user, a financial planner user, and a mixed user. Overall, these results suggest that younger consumers with a Bachelor's degree and less financial assets are more likely to use the Internet, instead of a financial planner or in addition to the financial planner. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Performance Factors, Internet, Financial Services, Money Management, Use Studies, Statistical Surveys, Investigations, Investment, Statistical Analysis, Decision Making, Human Resources, Financial Problems, Working Hours, Time Perspective, Hypothesis Testing, Family Work Relationship, Consumer Economics, Attribution Theory, Educational Attainment, Predictor Variables
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A