What Determine Money Management Behaviour of Undergraduates? An Examination in an Emerging Economy

Abstract

Aims: Money management behaviour of undergraduates academically is a researchable area as their decisions relating to money management not only have an impact on their life itself but also it affects the long-term financial stability of an organisation, an industry and a nation. In emerging economy contexts, money management behaviour heavily focused on functional financial literature, there is a significant lack of published research focus on factors beyond different aspects of financial literacy. Therefore, the purposes of this study include investigating factors beyond financial literacy that influence money management behaviour and understanding the level of influences on money management behaviour of undergraduates. Study Design: The study was carried out in Sri Lanka, an emerging country and adopted a quantitative survey method. A personally-administered, structured questionnaire was used to collect data from management undergraduates in the selected university in Sri Lanka. Results: The results indicate that undergraduates economic, social and psychological factors significantly affect money management behaviour. The results of regression-based path analysis indicate that economic, social and psychological factors mediate the direct impact and encouraging healthy money management behaviour in undergraduates. The study further identified the deviations in money management behaviour and selected influences of undergraduates with respect to gender, academic year, place of residence, doing online transactions and working hours. Conclusion: The study has extended our understanding on the money management behaviour of undergraduates. Research and managerial implications are provided together with future research directions.