Redefining Green Bonds Management through the Use of Blockchain Technologies: Effects on Investors’ Behaviors

ABSTRACT. Entering a new era of green investing powered by advanced automation not only offers higher transparency but also paves the way for an innovative financial product for retail investors. Green bonds are a type of bonds that are used to finance environmentally sustainable projects. Accordingly, the entities issuing a green bond commit themselves to utilizing the raised funds for financing projects that bring about positive environmental outcomes, such as initiatives in renewable energy or sustainable infrastructure. Blockchain technologies have the potential to sustain green bonds by increasing transparency and accountability in the issuance and use of the funds raised from green bonds. In this paper, we investigate the effects of blockchain technologies in sustaining green bonds exchange on investors’ behaviors. By leveraging on a sample of 551 international participants, results revealed the mediator role of investors’ environmental concern, and the moderator role of their innovativeness. Specifically, statistical analysis revealed that their attitude toward green bonds proposed on the basis of blockchain technologies increase positively investors’ willingness to buy through the effects of their environmental concern. Moreover, this effect is stronger among those investors characterized by higher level of innovativeness tendency.