The Evaluative Uncertainty and Evaluative Importance Dimensions of Perceived Risk

Abstract

This article looks at the concept of perceived risk from an information processing viewpoint, emphasizing the alternative evaluation state of the choice process. The initial degree of perceived risk that exists for a brand-choice situation within a product class is redefined to include the components of evaluative uncertainty and importance and then tested through an experimental design. The results indicate that perceived risk, as manifested in the form of evaluative uncertainty and importance, tends to increase as the average level of brand quality within a product class decreases and the variability in brand quality increases. These findings suggest that the acquisition of additional brand attribute information may sometimes increase rather than reduce the consumer’s perceived risk, even though such information may result in a more clear differentiation among alternative brands.