Global development of innovative financial services. Does family economic socialization influence investor behavior in real estate crowdfunding?

Research background: Globalization, digitalization and growth of technological innovations trigger development of new financial services, such as real estate crowdfunding. Seeking better return opportunities individual investors often disregard neoclassical decision-making criteria, while behavioral factors, such as social influence, emotions, cognitive abilities are gaining importance. This paper addresses the role of family economics socialization as a complex process by which individuals acquire social skills, knowledge, behavior patterns needed to make investment decision by purposively or spontaneously interacting with their family members. Purpose of the article is to assess if and how family economic socialization impacts on investor behavior in real estate crowdfunding. Methods: Research data was collected through an online survey of Lithuanian real estate crowdfunding investors. Then structural equation modeling technique was employed to investigate the impact of family economic socialization on behavior of real estate crowdfunding investors. Findings & Value added: Findings revealed that majority of real estate crowdfunding investors make bounded rationality investment decisions. Family, as one of the main agents of the economic socialization, does not ensure rationality of the crowdfunding decision-making process. Purposive family economic socialization has no impact on the behavior of investors with bounded rationality, yet it has a significant impact on behavior of rational family members. Spontaneous family economic socialization proved to have a positive and significant impact on the behavior of investors with bounded rationality. Taking into consideration rapid global development of innovative financial services market, such results might be a troubling signal for the product developers and market regulators