Online trading between a hobby and work. An empirical study on the ‘professionalism’ of Italian retail investors in the gig economy era

Journal title SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO
Author/s Niccolò Casnici, Marco Castellani
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/174
Language Italian Pages 30 P. 179-208 File size 370 KB
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Against a backdrop of general growth in the so-called gig economy, the buying and selling of financial commodities via digital platforms (online trading) is becoming an increasingly popular practice, even in countries with relatively low levels of financialisation such as Italy. This paper presents the results of an online survey conducted among 474 independent Italian investors to examine the level of participation in the online trading market and the micro-social factors that may explain its prevalence. The research is based on an analysis of the respondents’ motivational drivers, their attitudes towards risk and their level of financial literacy. Using a quantitative approach built on three linear regression models, the study analyses how these factors explain the number of transactions completed, the time spent on trading and the size of the respondents’ investment portfolios. The results show that motivations such as personal ambition or the desire to rapidly improve one’s socio-economic status drive independent investors to increase the frequency of trading and the amount of time devoted to it. Furthermore, the data reveal that the most disadvantaged individuals are also those most exposed to market risks. Overall, the study contributes to an understanding of financialisation processes in the Italian context, focusing on the most significant implications, with particular attention to the issue of social inequalities.

Keywords: platform economy; gig work; financialisation; economic sociology; sociology of finance

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Niccolò Casnici, Marco Castellani, Il trading online tra hobby e lavoro. Uno studio empirico sulla “professionalità” degli investitori indipendenti italiani nell’era della Gig Economy in "SOCIOLOGIA DEL LAVORO " 174/2026, pp 179-208, DOI: