ITR: Collaborative Research:Virtual Investing-Related Communities and Online Investing: A Study of Adoption, Usage, and Performance and Policy Implications

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This study will investigate online investing and virtual investing-related communities (VICs)looking at two broad research issues: (a) How is information generated, discussed, and diffused within and across VICs, and how do such activities impact market efficiency? and (b) How do economic, social and psychological influences together impact investor adoption, participation, and satisfaction? The study will involve processing over three million messages covering 40 stocks from 10 major VICs. The information will be parsed and categorized, and various hypotheses related to diffusion and market impacts will be tested. In-depth interviews and a large-scale survey of online investors will validate a comprehensive model of investor satisfaction. This research contributes to the information processing and diffusion, rumor propagation, impact of IT on markets, and individual/group behavior literatures that lie at the intersection of information systems, psychology, marketing, and economics. The research results will lay the foundation for the design of software tools that can detect worrisome types of information flow in real-time. From a regulatory perspective, an understanding of social and psychological biases and distorting influences will support the design of regulatory measures that counter their negative impacts.