Security Token Offerings: A Risk as Feelings Theoretic Perspective on Investment

Security Token Offerings (STOs) are a blockchain-enabled way for organizations to raise capital. To realize this, STO needs to base on a broad user base, which is currently not established. We take an individual-level perspective and examines why individuals decide to invest in STO. We suggest a mixed-method approach and build upon the theoretical perspective of the Risk as Feelings hypothesis to study what shapes STO investment decisions. In Study 1, we identify perceptions and anticipatory feelings. Perceptions include profit expectancy, personal need, benefit of gaining STO expertise, support of disruption, trust in financial regulator’s approval, financial flexibility, low investment barriers, and opportunity for diversification. The identified anticipatory feelings are excitement, enjoyment, anxiety, and fear of missing out that individuals experience when deciding to invest. In the ongoing Study 2, we will analyze how individuals decide when the cognitive evaluation and feelings contradict each other resulting in decisional conflict