Perceptions about Social Responsible Investing among Academic Staff: Evidence from the University of Cape Coast, Ghana

Aims: The study focused on the perceptions about social responsible investing (SRI) among academic staff. The target population for the study were staff of the University of Cape Coast.

Study Design: The study employed the cross-sectional survey research design.

Place and Duration of Study: The study took place between September 2016 and December, 2016 at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The data was collected from Academic Staff of the University.

Research Methodology: Three hundred and two (302) questionnaires were given out for data collection but in all, a total of two hundred and eighty-five (285) responses were received and were used for the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, Structural Equation Modelling were used to analyse the responses gathered. The Smart PLS and SPSS software were employed in the processing of the data collected.

Results: The study revealed that the knowledge about SRI concept was relatively low these respondents. However, it was observed these respondents were not much familiar with the principle of SRI in making investment decisions.

Conclusion: It was evident that social responsible investing ideology is not well diffused even among the learned communities such as the university. This can be attributed to the inadequate research on this subject matter by the research community, especially those from Ghana. It is, therefore, necessary that attention be turned to this critical area of research. For corporate bodies, it is an area where firms can obtain a competitive advantage, by reviewing their policies to incorporate such responsible behaviour.