Evolution du comportement du consommateur français dans l'e-commerce B2C

Risque perçu Risque objectif Attitude/risque

Individual

Product

Situation

Subjective probability

Objective probability Individual

PERTE

Situation où un individu obtient un résultat inférieur à un point de référence

INCERTITUDE Difficulté ressentie par un individu à estimer le degré de probabilité

Risque Global

2. Determinants and dimensions of the perceived risk

After having highlighted the components of the perceived risk, for better including/understanding this concept, it is interesting to study its determinants with the various variables which bring the risk and the consequences of the risk perceived with various dimensions on which it has an effect. Also let us see if the risk perceived by the consumer is encircled in a total way, or on the contrary, if it is broken up at the level of each potential loss (diversity and importance of the losses), also called « dimensions of the perceived risk ».

2.1 Determinants of the perceived risk

The determinants of the perceived risk come from three sources : of the consumer,

product and of the situation. The inherent risk is associated the category of the product, running or is specialized, and represents the risk to buy any product of a category of products given. The assumed risk is associated the situation of purchase of a product, is formed of the search for information and choice, and is represented by the risk connected to the purchase of a product in a given situation (Bettman 1973).

2.1.1 Risk perceived according to the consumer

According to Filser (1994), three categories of individual characteristics have an influence on the behavior of the consumer, the socio-demographic, psychographic and psychological characteristics.

For the first characteristic, for the purchase of a product at the raised social risk, Prasad (1975), showed that the attitudes differ. However, this socio-demographic factor was slightly studied by the researchers like determinant of the perceived risk.

The factor psychographic gathers the personality, the life style and the values of the individual. The researchers detected 5 features of personality which define the risk : the self-confidence in the realization of a task or a problem, the taking risk, rigidity, the cognitive style with a need for information, these 4 features cause a weak feeling of risk, and the fifth factor the anxiety, which causes an important perception of the risk to him.

The psychological factor was studied with the concept of implication durable ; it is about the pleasure or desire of knowledge, on the long term, that the consumer tests with a product. This concept precedes the risk is influence thus the risk with the purchase (Vennkatraman 1989).

2.1.2 Risk perceived according to the product

The determinants of the risk related to the product can objective or be perceived.

The objective factors are the category, nature, the mark and the price.

The risks are different according to whether one buys durables (financial risk), nondurable (related to health by the physical risk) and from clothing (psychological risk) (Derbaix, 1983).

According to Güseman (1981), the services, which are by nature intangible and with L `difficult evaluation, is perceived like riskier than the goods.

For the mark, there is a difference in perception of risk between the products of mark and the products generic (Toh and Heeren 1982).

As for the price factor, it is determining in the perception of the risk (Bauer 1960). Either on a level of high price, pledge of quality, or on a level of price weak, weak financial risk.

The perceived factors take again the feeling of innovation and the experiment with the product.

For Popielarz (1967), the individuals who perceive a product or a mark as new distinguish a risk higher than the others.

Contrary, the consumers who have experience with a product, perceive a risk less low than those which had not had of it (Srinivasan and Rachford 1991).

2.1.3 Risk perceived according to the situation

Two types of situations coexist, the objective situation and the subjective situation (Lutz and Kakkar, 1975).

The objective situation is made up of the mode, the place of purchase, and time available to the consumer. Thus, the purchase by telephone (Cox and Rich, 1964), by correspondence (Spence, Engel and Blackwell, 1970), by Internet (Korgaonkar and Moschis, 1989) and at a discounter (Lumpkin and Dunn, 1990), represent modes and places of purchases perceived like riskier than the traditional purchases.

The situation subjective (or psychological) takes again several principles like the fact that a situation is considered to be less risky when its outcome appears remote (phenomenon of framing) (Mowen, 1992). Chaudhuri (1998) also resumed several studies to show that the positive emotions made it possible to decrease the perceived risk and conversely. Lastly, McCorkle (1990) affirms that the perception of the credibility of the source also plays a part.

Determinants of the perceived risk^11(*) (Stephan Mallet, 2002)

CONSUMER	PRODUCT	SITUATION
Ø Socio-demographic	Ø Objectives · the category · nature · the mark · the price · (country of origin) *	Ø Objective · mode of purchase · place of purchase · serviceable time
Ø Psychographiques · personality : - self-confidence - taking risk - rigidity - cognitive style - anxiety · life style · values of the individual	Ø Perceived · Shown : - the feeling of innovation - experiment with the product · Suggested : (durable importance and expertise) *	Ø Subjective · Shown : - framing - emotional reactions · Suggested : - credibility of the source - (orientations of purchase) * - (efforts required in purchase) *
Ø Psychological · durable implication

RISQUE PERCU

* ¹¹ Mallet Stephan (2002), «  Determinants and consequences of the risk perceived in behavior of the consumer  », Thesis of Doctorate of 3rd cycle, University of Paris I, the Pantheon Sorbonne.