Date of Award
Summer 6-16-2024
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)
First Advisor
Richard A. Rocco
Second Advisor
Grace Lemmon
Third Advisor
D. Joel Whalen
Abstract
Prior research has established the effectiveness of market segmentation strategy, and specifically the use of political ideology. Existing literature divides political ideology into two groups: liberal and conservative, despite over 40% of consumers self-identifying as independent. Researchers have indicated the need for consumer behavior studies about independents, but none yet appear to exist. This exploratory study attempted to address this by examining financial product consumer behavior of political independents, as measured by financial risk tolerance (FRT), for two products: mutual funds and bitcoin. Researchers have shown that over 80% of independents are leaners, that is they resemble conservative or liberal partisans in their behavior, and the present study asked if this was particularly true when evaluating these forms of risk tolerance. This was achieved by comparing FRT of independent leaners and partisans for these two products. Results were mixed, showing that independent left leaners showed no significant difference in FRT in both mutual funds and bitcoin, supporting two hypotheses. Independent right leaners and partisans, however, showed significant differences in FRT, which does not support the other two hypotheses.
Recommended Citation
Glover, Steve, "Political Ideology and Consumer Behavior of Independent Voters" (2024). College of Business Theses and Dissertations. 28.
https://via.library.depaul.edu/business_etd/28
