The paper aims to attempt to identify the attributes that women look for in their financial advisor and to examine if the choice of attributes of a financial advisor among women…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to attempt to identify the attributes that women look for in their financial advisor and to examine if the choice of attributes of a financial advisor among women investors in Punjab is the same across demographics. The understanding of the attributes that women want in their financial advisor will help the financial advisors to be mindful of the opportunities and the challenges they have to face while working with women investors. Studying the impact of demographics on the choice of the investment advisor would enable the service providers to provide women with services relevant to their unique and individual situations.
Design/methodology/approach
A pre-tested, well-structured questionnaire was constructed and administered personally, and the responses of 200 women investors were analyzed. The sum of the ranks assigned by women to various attributes determining the choice of a financial advisor was used to find out the most preferred attribute on the basis of which women choose their financial advisor. The Kruskal Wallis test was used to analyze the impact of demographics on the choice of the respondents.
Findings
The results of the study brought out that the friendliness of the financial advisor, and the quality of advice provided by them are preferred attributes determining the choice of a financial advisor. Along with this, the results also state that the preference for the attribute friendliness and quality of advice is not the same across age groups. The choice of attributes also varies according to the marital status of the respondents.
Practical implications
The current study will contribute toward a greater understanding of the attributes which are considered important by women while choosing their financial advisor. The study will help the financial advisors to cater to the needs of their women clients. Moreover, the study will also benefit women by bringing about a positive change in the attitude of the financial advisors in favor of them. The greater sensitization of the financial advisors toward their women clients would lead to greater stock market participation among women, thereby benefitting the society.
Originality/value
The paper is an attempt to identify the attributes that women look for in their financial advisor and to examine if the choice of attributes of a financial advisor among women investors in Punjab is the same across demographics or not. Therefore, the study contributes to the understanding of the investment behavior of women.
Details
Keywords
Vrinda Khattar and Upasna A. Agarwal
The purpose of this article is to understand how women develop entrepreneurship as a career identity through women's various life stages. Using a life story approach, the authors…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to understand how women develop entrepreneurship as a career identity through women's various life stages. Using a life story approach, the authors study the formation of Indian businesswomen's entrepreneurial identity in businesswomen's unique socio-cultural context.
Design/methodology/approach
The study drew upon 15 semi-structured interviews with practicing women entrepreneurs using a qualitative methodology. Gioia methodology was used to systematically analyze the data for theory building.
Findings
The narratives of the Indian women entrepreneurs indicate that Indian women's entrepreneurial identity was a developmental process influenced by various episodes in different life stages-childhood, adolescence, marriage and motherhood. Life episodes influenced the creation and enactment of this entrepreneurial identity, which led to the emergence of entrepreneurship as a career choice.
Research limitations/implications
The study's retrospective design may have raised concerns involving memory recall. The open-ended questions gave the participants the freedom to recount the life episodes that influenced the participants the most and may have partly mitigated this concern.
Originality/value
Prior studies have focused on specific life stages of women entrepreneurs, without taking a holistic life-story view, thereby missing out on how career identity is formed as a result of life episodes. Using the developmental psychology approach, the authors provide a nuanced and holistic lens to understanding women's entrepreneurship.