This study examines how investors’ personality traits develop a psychology of green investments. The future time orientation (FTO) is examined as a mediator. It combines two streams of knowledge, that is, human psychology and sustainable finance. Construal level theory was used to establish the relationships. In total, 539 investors who invested in green products were selected. Data were collected using a structured and self-administered questionnaire. The structural equation modelling was used to examine the relationships using the partial least squares method. All the Big Five personality traits had a positive and significant relationship with green financial investment behaviour. The results found that investors with diverse personalities tend to take environmentally responsible initiatives. Additionally, FTO mediated these relationships partially. The results of this study are beneficial for the investors and businesses. Aligning green investments with investor personality types could enrich market reach, wherein the FTO stands as another important factor. This research combines two distinct streams of study: behavioural finance and sustainability. Therefore, this study stands novel by examining how psychological factors influence pro-environmental financial decisions.
AjzenI. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(2), 179–211. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/074959789190020T
2.
AkhtarF. (2022). Big-five personality traits and pro-environmental investment specifics from an emerging economy. Global Business Review, 23(2), 354–371. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0972150919858485
3.
ArpaciI., AslanO., & KevserM. (2024). Evaluating short-and long-term investment strategies: Development and validation of the investment strategies scale (ISS). Financial Innovation, 10(1), 63.
4.
AshtonM. C., & LeeK. (2025). Self- and observer reports of personality. Annual Review of Psychology, 76(1), 771–795.
5.
BrandiH. S., & dos SantosS. F. (2020). Measuring sustainable development goals: An application of modern portfolio theory on sustainability systems. Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy, 22(4), 803–815.
6.
BulutB., & ÖksüzoğluM. K. (2026). How does global literacy affect environmental behavior? The mediating role of eco-anxiety. Ecology and Society, 31(1), 4–11. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-16812-310104
7.
Busic-SonticA., & BrickC. (2018). Personality trait effects on green household installations. Collabra: Psychology, 4(1), 8–18.
8.
CaglarA. E., AvciS. B., AhmedZ., & GökçeN. (2024). Assessing the role of green investments and green innovation in ecological sustainability: From a climate action perspective on European countries. Science of the Total Environment, 928, 172527.
9.
Cepeda-CarriónG., HairJ. F., RingleC. M., RoldánJ. L., & García-FernándezJ. (2022). Guest editorial: Sports management research using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, 23(2), 229–240.
10.
ChenY., LiuQ., ShanS., & JinC. (2024). Matching is best: Enhancing effects of future orientation and construal level on green consumption. Behavioral Sciences, 14(11), 1100.
11.
ChengQ., & CaoW. (2025). Does sustainable investment knowledge affect investment behavior? A social cognitive theory perspective. SAGE Open, 15(3), 21582440251375805.
12.
CohenJ. (2013). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. (2nd Ed.). Routledge.
13.
DonnellanM. B., OswaldF. L., BairdB. M., & LucasR. E. (2006). The mini-IPIP scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five factors of personality. Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 192. https://doi.org/10.1037/1040-3590.18.2.192
14.
DuongC. D. (2022). Big Five personality traits and green consumption: Bridging the attitude-intention-behavior gap. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics, 34(6), 1123–1144.
15.
FornellC., & LarckerD. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39–50.
16.
GoslingS. D., RentfrowP. J., & SwannW. B., Jr. (2003). A very brief measure of the Big-Five personality domains. Journal of Research in Personality, 37(6), 504–528
17.
HairJ., HollingsworthC. L., RandolphA. B., & ChongA. Y. L. (2017). An updated and expanded assessment of PLS-SEM in information systems research. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 117(3), 442–458.
18.
HirshJ. B. (2010). Personality and environmental concern. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 30(2), 245–248.
19.
HirshJ. B., & DoldermanD. (2007). Personality predictors of consumerism and environmentalism: A preliminary study. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(6), 1583–1593.
20.
HirshJ. B., MarR. A., & PetersonJ. B. (2012). Psychological entropy: A framework for understanding uncertainty-related anxiety. Psychological Review, 119(2), 304–320.
21.
HuangH. D., & ZhangQ. (2023). Distance-construal relationship: Mediating role of perceived control and moderating role of locus of control. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 975417.
22.
HullandJ. (1999). Use of partial least squares (PLS) in strategic management research: A review of four recent studies. Strategic Management Journal, 20(2), 195–204.
23.
HussainJ., AnjumS., YousufM., & AhmadF. (2023). Greening growth: The environmental implications of technology innovation, green finance, and foreign direct investment in Pakistan. Review of Economics & Development Studies, 9(2), 133–146.
24.
IsidoreR. R., & ArunC. J. (2021). The behavior of the various personalities of secondary equity investors: Big five personality model. The Journal of Wealth Management, 24(1), 55–77.
25.
KesenheimerJ. S., & GreitemeyerT. (2021). Going green (and not being just more pro-social): Do attitude and personality specifically influence pro-environmental behavior?Sustainability, 13(6), 3560.
26.
KhalafA. B. (2024). Impact of board characteristics on the adoption of sustainable reporting practices. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2391563.
27.
KirchlerB., KollmannA., ReichlJ., & CohenJ. J. (2026). Belonging drives investment intentions: Emotional attachment in sustainable crowdfunding for community energy projects. Energy Research & Social Science, 132, 104532.
28.
KordzadehN., & BozanK. (2024). The influence of the big five personality traits and propensity to trust on online review behaviors: The moderating role of gender. Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research, 19(2), 1442–1470.
29.
KumarB., ManraiA. K., & ManraiL. A. (2017). Purchasing behaviour for environmentally sustainable products: A conceptual framework and empirical study. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 34, 1–9.
30.
LiY., & SolomonD. H. (2023). Operationalizing relational construal level to test relational turbulence theory: Linking relational turbulence in romantic relationships to interpersonal processes. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 40(1), 102–129.
31.
MilfontT. L., & SibleyC. G. (2012). The big five personality traits and environmental engagement: Associations at the individual and societal level. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 32(2), 187–195.
32.
MishraA. N., RajA., & PaniA. K. (2020). Construal level research in decision making: Analysis and pushing forward the debate using bibliometric review and thematic analysis. American Business Review, 23(1), 106–135.
33.
MohsinM., NasirN., AbidM. A., MubeenA., & AhmedW. (2024). Future time perspective: A review and bibliometric analysis. Quality & Quantity, 58(2), 1481–1516.
34.
Muñoz-MuñozE., Crespo-CebadaE., Mirón-SanguinoA. S., & Díaz-CaroC. (2025). Investors personality correlates with sustainability preferences in investment—A choice experiment with Spanish investors. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 114, 102332.
35.
NasirM., RehmanR., & KhanM. A. (2021). Impact of personality traits on investment decisions: Evidence from Pakistan. Journal of Behavioral Finance, 22(3), 1–15.
36.
NguyenT. N., LoboA., & GreenlandS. (2017). The influence of cultural values on green purchase behaviour. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 35(3), 377–396.
37.
NiessS. (2025). Shifting investors towards social responsibility: A narrative review of effective intervention strategies. Cogent Economics & Finance, 13(1), 2490820.
38.
NunnallyJ. C., & BernsteinI. H. (1994). Psychometric theory(3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill.
39.
O’NeillS., & MathewsM. (2018). A literature review on the role of personality traits in green investment decisions. Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, 8(2), 1–20.
40.
PodsakoffP. M., MacKenzieS. B., LeeJ. Y., & PodsakoffN. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879.
41.
QaziW., QureshiJ. A., RazaS. A., KhanK. A., & QureshiM. A. (2021). Impact of personality traits and university green entrepreneurial support on students’ green entrepreneurial intentions: The moderating role of environmental values. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 13(4), 1154–1180.
42.
SalamehA. A., AkhtarH., GulR., OmarA. B., & HanifS. (2022). Personality traits and entrepreneurial intentions: Financial risk-taking as mediator. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 927718.
43.
SarwarD., SarwarB., RazM. A., KhanH. H., MuhammadN., AzharU., ZamanN., & KasiM. K. (2020). Relationship of the big five personality traits and risk aversion with investment intention of individual investors. The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business, 7(12), 819–829.
44.
ShahS. S., QureshiF., MemonF. A., & UddinM. H. (2024). Financial literacy and investment behavior of individuals in Pakistan: Evidence from an environment prone to religious sentiment. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 44, 100974.
45.
ShahbazM., NasreenS., & AbbasF. (2020). The impact of personality traits on green investment behavior in Pakistan. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 22(4), 1–18.
46.
ShaheenT., KhanM. U., & AwanA. (2025). Big five personality traits and green investment intentions: Evidence from urban Pakistan. Asian Social Science & Administration Journal, 6(2), 112–130.
47.
ShippA. J., EdwardsJ. R., & LambertL. S. (2009). Conceptualization and measurement of temporal focus: The subjective experience of the past, present, and future. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110(1), 1–22.
48.
SolangiZ., MaitloA. A., & SoomroR. (2024). Exploring the post-pandemic landscape: An in-depth analysis of the impact of personality traits on investment behavior in Pakistan’s financial sector. International Journal of Emerging Business and Economic Trends, 3(1), 56–69.
49.
SoutterA. R. B., BatesT. C., & MõttusR. (2020). Big five and HEXACO personality traits, proenvironmental attitudes, and behaviors: A meta-analysis. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(4), 913–941.
50.
TropeY., & LibermanN. (2012). Construal level theory. Handbook of theories of social psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 118–134).
51.
VukovićM., & PivacS. (2024). The impact of behavioral factors on investment decisions and investment performance in Croatian stock market. Managerial Finance, 50(2), 349–366.
52.
YangX., & ZhangL. (2024). Understanding residents’ green purchasing behavior from a perspective of the ecological personality traits: The moderating role of gender. The Social Science Journal, 61(3), 668–685.
53.
YousafM., & ArifM. (2023). Openness to experience and sustainable investment behavior among Pakistani investors. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, 38, Article 100738.
