Behavioral Finance and Sustainable Green Investing
A special issue of Journal of Risk and Financial Management (ISSN 1911-8074). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability and Finance".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 2707
Special Issue Editor
Interests: corporate finance; behavioural finance; sustainable finance; dividend policy; climate change anking; public finance; FinTech
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, sustainable green investing has gained significant traction as individuals, institutions, and governments recognize the pressing need to address climate change and environmental degradation (Boubaker et al., 2024). At the same time, the field of behavioral finance—an area that combines psychology and economics to explain investor behavior—offers critical insights into how and why people make financial decisions that may deviate from traditional economic theory (Hasan and Al-Najjar, 2024). When combined, behavioral finance and sustainable investing create a dynamic interplay that influences the effectiveness and appeal of green financial products (Hasan and Al-Najjar, 2024).
Behavioral finance challenges the traditional notion of rational markets by introducing psychological influences on investor behavior (Baker and Wurgler, 2006). Key concepts include heuristics (mental shortcuts), overconfidence, loss aversion, and herding behavior. These biases often lead investors to make irrational or suboptimal decisions, such as panic selling during a market downturn or overinvesting in popular stocks. In the context of sustainable investing, these behavioral biases can both hinder and promote environmentally responsible investment decisions.
Sustainable investing involves integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into financial decision-making. Green investing, a subset of ESG investing, focuses specifically on companies and projects that support environmental sustainability, such as renewable energy, clean technology, and carbon-neutral initiatives.
Investor interest in sustainable investments is driven by a combination of ethical motives, long-term risk mitigation, and financial returns. Many investors now recognize that companies with strong ESG practices may be better positioned for long-term success. However, emotional and psychological factors—rather than purely rational analysis—often drive these investment decisions.
I am writing to invite you to submit academic articles addressing the following topics, among others:
- Investor psychology and green investment decisions;
- Perception of risk and return in sustainable assets;
- Social norms, values, and moral motivation;
- Heuristics and decision-making under uncertainty;
- Institutional behavior and green finance;
- Information processing and ESG communication;
- Behavioral factors in ESG fund performance;
- Climate change, emotions, and investment behavior;
- Financial literacy and sustainable investing;
- Experimental and behavioral interventions.
References:
Baker, M., and Wurgler, J., 2006. Investor sentiment and the crosssection of stock return. Journal of Finance, 61(4), 1645–1680.
Boubaker, S., Choudhury, T., Hasan, F. and Nguyen, D.K., 2024. Firm carbon risk exposure, stock returns, and dividend payment. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 221 (5), pp.248-276.
Hasan, F. and Al-Najjar, B., 2024. Exploring the connections: Dividend announcements, stock market returns, and major sporting events. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 63(3), pp.889-923.
Hasan, F. and Al-Najjar, B., 2024. Green investment and dividend payouts: An intercontinental perspective, Journal of Environmental Management, 370, 122626.
Dr. Fakhrul Hasan
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Risk and Financial Management is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- investor psychology
- green investment
- green finance
- ESG
- investor behavior
- sustainable investing
- sustainable assets
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
