研究結果首先證實了「信任先行」路徑的有效性，即個體對社會整體的普遍信任會透過其所連結的社會網絡位階，間接影響參與投資的可能性。當投資者具備較高的社會信任時，傾向動員社會資源與高社會地位或專業背景的成員互動。然而，在「資本先行」的路徑檢驗，社會資本主要呈現直接效果，而無需先經過社會信任感的提升。
此外，本研究揭示了個人網絡信任在微觀層面具備重要的代理功能。分析顯示，個人網絡信任在不同職業階級的資訊轉換過程中存在結構性差異。對於接觸對象以「常規與勞動階級」為主的投資者而言，由於缺乏稀缺的專業資訊優勢，對親友或同事的高度信任成為過濾資訊雜訊、降低風險認知的心理替代方案，進而強化社會信任並提升投資意願。相對地，專業管理階級的決策過程則受專業資訊支撐，較不依賴微觀心理機制的補償。
總結而言，本研究描繪臺灣投資者決策中「信任」與「資本」交織的雙重路徑。專業管理階級的資源轉換主要依賴具備制度正當性的專業資訊品質；而常規與勞動階級依賴日常互動累積的人際信任，作為克服金融風險認知的核心基礎。此發現不僅補足了現有文獻對信任在經濟決策中的盲點，亦拓展了社會資本理論在東亞文化脈絡下的適用性，並為金融教育與投資者保護政策提供具價值的參考。
This study aims to explore how individuals, within Taiwan's highly uncertain financial environment, overcome barriers to market participation and achieve the transformation of economic capital through the interwoven mechanisms of social capital, social trust, and personal network trust. In a cultural context where Taiwan's stock market is dominated by retail investors and characterized by a prevalence of oral information (word-of-mouth), investment decisions are not merely rational data-driven calculations but are deeply shaped by social capital and trust mechanisms. Utilizing the 2022 "Taiwan Social Change Survey" (Social Stratification module), this research addresses the high-risk environment of post-pandemic market volatility and intensifying inflation. It employs the KHB method for mediation analysis and utilizes Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) to provide an in-depth analysis of the moderated mediation mechanism of personal network trust.
The results first confirm the validity of the "trust-first" path; that is, an individual’s generalized social trust indirectly influences the likelihood of investment participation through the status of their connected social networks. When investors possess higher levels of social trust, they tend to mobilize social resources to interact with members of higher social status or professional backgrounds. However, in the testing of the "capital-first" path, social capital primarily exhibits a direct effect, bypassing the need for an initial increase in social trust.
Furthermore, this study reveals that personal network trust serves a vital proxy function at the micro-level. Analysis indicates structural differences in the information conversion process across different occupational classes. For investors whose primary contacts belong to the "routine and labor class," high trust in friends, relatives, or colleagues serves as a psychological substitute—filtering information noise and reducing risk perception—due to a lack of access to scarce professional information. This, in turn, strengthens social trust and increases investment intention. In contrast, the decision-making process of the professional-managerial class is supported by professional information and relies less on compensation from micro-psychological mechanisms.
In summary, this study delineates a dual path of interwoven "trust" and "capital" in the decision-making of Taiwanese investors. Resource conversion for the professional-managerial class relies mainly on the quality of professional information endowed with institutional legitimacy, while the routine and labor class relies on interpersonal trust accumulated through daily interactions as the core foundation for overcoming financial risk perception. These findings not only address blind spots in existing literature regarding the role of trust in economic decisions but also extend the applicability of social capital theory within the East Asian cultural context, providing valuable references for financial education and investor protection policies.