VAKKI Publications (Dec 2022)

Säästämisen ja sijoittamisen risteyksiä pankkien Twitter-viestinnässä

  • Heidi Hirsto

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 14
pp. 27 – 42

Abstract

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Banks have traditionally played an important role in defining and shaping the cultural meanings and practices of saving and investing. Whereas saving has traditionally been associated with responsible economic behavior, the meaning history of investing is more varied. This paper focuses on how banks and their employees construct meanings for saving, investing, and responsibility in contemporary digital media environment. Through analyzing Twitter posts with hashtags #saving and #investing, the study shows how saving gains meaning through promotional discourse and is closely intertwined with consumption and investing, with little distinctive, substantial meaning. Investing gains meaning as a hobby of an investor community where banks, analysts, and consumers engage in investment-related activities. The study indicates that investing has sidelined traditional saving as ideal economic behavior in banks’ communication. Banks use the hashtags to position themselves as relevant actors in the field, but discussion concerning the societal aspects of economic activity remains limited.

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