Integrating Traits, Influencer Credibility, Social Influence, and Behavioural Bias to Cryptocurrency Investment Decision: An SOR-Based Mediation Model

This study explains cryptocurrency investment decisions by integrating personality traits, influencer credibility, and social influence within the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework. The position model of openness, extraversion, conscientiousness, influencer credibility, and social influence as stimuli; heuristic bias and herding behaviour as organism states; and cryptocurrency investment decision as the response, with risk tolerance operating as a serial mediating mechanism. Data were collected from 367 Indonesian retail cryptocurrency investors using an online survey and analysed with SEM-PLS (SmartPLS) and one-tailed significance testing. The measurement model demonstrates adequate convergent validity and reliability, and discriminant validity is supported by HTMT values below the recommended threshold. Structural results support all hypothesized relationships (H1–H12). Openness (β = 0.132), extraversion (β = 0.326), and conscientiousness (β = 0.195) positively influence the tendency toward heuristic bias. Influencer credibility (β = 0.303) and social influence (β = 0.285) positively influence herding behaviour. Heuristic bias positively affects risk tolerance (β = 0.585) and investment decision (β = 0.407), while herding behaviour positively affects risk tolerance (β = 0.185) and investment decision (β = 0.106). Risk tolerance positively affects investment decision (β = 0.354) and mediates the effects of heuristic bias (indirect β = 0.200) and herding behaviour (indirect β = 0.078) on investment decision. The model explains substantial variance in investment decisions (Adjusted R² = 0.623) and moderate variance in risk tolerance (Adjusted R² = 0.507). The findings extend SOR to sentiment-driven digital asset markets by showing that cognitive shortcuts and socially transmitted cues shape risk tolerance before translating into investment actions, and they highlight the importance of behavioural risk-mitigation and disclosure practices in crypto ecosystems.