The relationship between intangibility, perceived risk and knowledge.

Abstract

The importance of the study on perceived risk is enhanced when the behavior of the consumer of services is approached, in particular through the intangibility characteristic Over the last decades, intangibility has been pointed out as a key aspect in the distinction and demarcation of goods and services. Recently, there have been strong indications that the range of the tangible-intangible gap as a classifier of goods and services has been decreasing significantly. Furthermore, intangibility has been treated, especially after the work by Laroche, Bergeron and Goutaland (2001; 2003), as a construct made up of multiple dimensions, with different implications on perceived risk and moderated by knowledge. In this sense, the present study evaluated the relation between intangibility dimensions and perceived risk, and the moderating impact of knowledge on this relation. The results point out that mental intangibility emerges as central determinant for the intangibility level of a product, having a significant impact on the risk perceived by the consumer. In the analysis of the moderating role of knowledge in the intangibility-perceived risk relation, it became evident that for consumers with a higher knowledge level intangibility yields lower effects on risk.