What make investors herd while investing in the Indian stock market? A hybrid approach

Purpose: In recent years, significant research has focused on the question of whether severe market periods are accompanied by herding behavior. As herding behavior is a considerable cause of the speculative bubble and leads to stock market deviations from their basic values it is necessary to examine the motivators which led to herding behavior among investors. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach: In this study, the authors performed a two-phase analysis to address the research questions of the study. In the first phase, for text analysis NVivo software was used to identify the factors driving herding behavior among Indian stock investors. The analysis of a text was performed using word frequency analysis. While in the second phase, the Fuzzy-AHP analysis techniques were employed to examine the relative importance of all the factors determined and assign priorities to the factors extracted. Findings: Results of the study depicted Investor Cognitive Psychology (ICP), Market Information (MI), Stock Characteristics (SC) as the top-ranked factors driving herding behavior, while Socio-Economic Factors (SEF) emerged as the least important factor driving herding behavior. Research limitations/implications: The current study was undertaken among stock investors from North India only. Moreover, numerous factors are not part of the study but might significantly influence the investors' herding behaviors. Practical implications: Comprehending the influences of the different factors discussed in the study would enable stock investors to be more aware of their investment choices and not resort to herd behavior. This research enables decision-makers to understand the reasons for herd activity and helps them act accordingly to improve the stock market's performance. Originality/value: The current study will provide an inclusive overview of herding behavior motivators among Indian stock investors. This study's results can be extremely useful for both academics and policymakers to gain some insight into the functioning of the Indian stock market.