An Application of the Diffusion of Innovation Theory in Financial Services Marketing (Case Study: The Stock Exchange)

The application of financial services marketing in Iran’s financial system has become widespread over the recent decade. The goal of this type of marketing is to attract potential investors. The stock exchange market is the most important one in this system. This market is considered as a crucial tool for absorbing straggled money, strengthen economy, and company financing. Furthermore, increasing people engagement in the stock market will lead to economic boom. Hence finding some new ways to acquire new investors for the stock market is considered as a top priority for capital market managers as well as policy makers. In this research the stock market viewed as an innovation. Based on the innovation features mentioned in Roger’s Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), a 21-items questionnaire has been designed. Moreover, data were collected using 170 open-ended self-report 4-point scales questionnaire. Structural equation modeling indicated that perceived relative advantage of stock and also observability of the stock have a positive impact on intention toward investing in the stock market.