Shed old baggage and invest wisely. A bibliometric and thematic analysis of disposition effect and investment

Purpose This paper aims to review, systematize and integrate existing research on disposition effect and investments. This study conducts bibliometric analysis, including performance analysis and science mapping and thematic analysis of studies on disposition effect. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a thematic and bibliometric analysis of the papers related to the disposition effect. A total of 231 papers published from 1971 to 2021 were retrieved from the Scopus database for the study, and bibliometric analysis and thematic analysis were performed. Findings This study’s findings demonstrate that research on the disposition effect is interdisciplinary and influences the research in the domain of both corporate and behavioral finance. This review indicates limited research on cross-country data. This study indicates a strong presence of work on investor psychology and behavioral finance when it comes to the disposition effect. The findings of thematic analysis further highlight that most of the research has focused on prospect theory, trading strategies and a few cognitive and emotional biases. Practical implications The findings of this study can be used by investors to minimize their biases and losses. The study also highlights new techniques in machine learning and neurosciences, which can help investment firms better understand their clients’ behavior. Policymakers can use the study’s findings to nudge investors’ behavior, focusing on minimizing the effects of the disposition effect. Originality/value This study has performed the quantitative bibliometric and thematic analysis of existing studies on the disposition effect and identified areas of future research on the phenomenon of disposition effect in investments.