Involvement and risk

Abstract

Abstract This paper examines the relationship between product class involvement and the ability to handle purchase risk. Adopting the enduring‐instrumental model of involvement, this paper examines its relationship with dimensions of risk such as uncertainty, importance, and innovation proneness. It proposes that enduringly involved consumers have a greater ability to handle risk as compared to instrumentally involved consumers. The findings, based on purchase behavior for the personal computer, food processor, and video cassette recorder, generally support the hypothesized relationships between involvement and risk for each of these three products. The implications of these findings for different facets of information seeking and purchase behavior are discussed.