Risk perception consumers

This consists of high-risk aversion-low-risk perception consumers. The conservative segment is composed of cautious, risk-averse consumers who do not take any unnecessary risks. They can also be seen as being the silent majority in many ways (Miller, 1985). 

An important theme to this review is that people respond to food crises differently. We can still, however, achieve a reasonable degree of predictability by segmenting them into somewhat homogeneous groups based—not on demographics—but on a person s risk perceptions and risk attitude. For every crisis there will be accountable, concerned, conservative, and alarmist segments of consumers. Knowing their relative size will enable us to better predict the effectiveness of different interventions. 

In communicating information about a food scare, there is recent evidence that the media might be more influential than one-on-one interactions. Empirical research conducted in April 1998 indicated that mass media had a negative impact on consumer risk perceptions, health concerns, and attitude and behavior toward meat. Compared to alarming reports of the press, personal communication (through butchers for meat products, for example) had only a small effect on consumer decision making (Verbeke et al., 1999). 

In their study of biotechnology, Frewer et al. (2001) found that while overall prior attitude and food neophobia influenced both the perception of a source s expertise and trustworthiness, no source-related factor had any increased effect on the perceived benefit or perceived risk of consuming the product (see Figure 6). This finding is important because it directly contradicts the conventional belief that these benefits and risks are influenced by an information source. In some cases, they seem to be influenced more by prior views than by the messenger. 

Risk perceptions refer to a consumer s estimate of how likely they will be exposed to the content of the risk ( I have a 1 in 100,000 chance of contracting a BSE-related disease if I eat beef ). Risk attitude reflects a consumer s general predisposition to risk in a consistent way. It is important to emphasize that risk attitude and risk perception are two different concepts. Whereas risk attitude deals with a consumer s interpretation of the content of the risk and how much he or she dislikes it, risk perception deals with a consumer s interpretation of the likelihood of being exposed to the content of the risk. 

While both a consumer s risk attitudes and risk perceptions individually influence their behavior, it has been shown—in the context of BSE—that it is the combination of risk attitude and risk perception that has the biggest influence on behavior (Pennings et al., 2002). That is, regardless of one s risk attitude, there will be no change in one s behavior if a person perceives no risk in a situation. However, if a person does believe a behavior has some risk involved (such as eating beef during the BSE scare), it is their attitude toward risk (it is worth the risk to eat beef vs. it is not worth the risk) that eventually determined their behavior and not simply their assessment of the risk itself. 

When risk-averse consumers perceive risk, they will exhibit risk management behavior (behavior that decreases risk exposure). However, when riskseeking consumers perceive risk, they will exhibit risky behavior or seek out ways to increase their risk (because of the corresponding payoff). The interaction between risk attitude and risk perception represents how one intends to cope with risks in the channel combined with the risks their actions generate. 

By decoupling risk response behavior into the separate components of risk perception and risk attitude, a more robust conceptualization and prediction of consumer reactions are possible. The insights that result from decoupling risk perceptions and risk attitudes can yield important implications. Consider the two following outcomes from a program of research by Pennings et al. (2002) ... 

Outcome 1. Suppose that risk perception is the main driver of a consumer s reaction to a food safety scare. This would suggest that communicating research information effectively is a powerful tool in changing behavior. That is, providing and communicating the true probabilities of being exposed to the risk (when possible) will be a useful way to respond to consumers concerns. 

The low-risk aversion-low-risk perception profile corresponds to consumers who are risk seekers. They view themselves as accountable for their own behavior and what results from it. They ignore any available information... 

FIG. 10 Four profiles of consumers according to risk perception and risk aversion levels. 

This high-risk aversion-high-risk perception profile corresponds to risk-averse consumers. This alarmist segment is composed of people who are prone to overreacting to many situations (Radovanovic, 1995). They are also the most assertive in their tendency to become politically involved or to actively attempt to influence others. 

Consumer segment risk aversion/risk perception Passive vs aggressive responses Irrational vs rational responses Short- vs long-term responses... 

Risk may be perceived differently across societal groups, and how consumers cope with perceived risk will depend on their risk attitude. Before a person is able to respond to risk, risk must first be perceived (Trimpop, 1994). Stone et al. (1994) modeled the identification of risks as a cognitive process of identification, storage, and retrieval. The level of risk that a food-related behavior provides depends on the consumer s risk perception (Sparks et al., 1995). 

Wohl, J.B. 1998. Consumers decision-making and risk perceptions regarding foods produced with biotechnology. J. Consum. Policy 21, 387 104. 

Risk management is the part of the process where characterized risks are evaluated against options to reduce or avoid them. In general, aspects other than science (for instance cost, social responsibility, and (consumer) risk perception) are taken into account here. 

IMEP-20 Tuna Fish Fish and E>shery products are a central element in the diet of a good part of the world population. Recently, concerns about health risks due to elevated contents of Hg in Psh were raised by scientists and the media. To address this concern the EU Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection organized surveys on the consumers risk perception associated... 

Consumer Perception of Food Risk and Consumer Trust in Europe... 

It is obvious that societal concerns play a major role in how the consumer perceives risks and benefits (Tables 1 and 2). Furthermore, consumers do not distinguish between food safety risks and diet-related risks. Their risk perception depends on different traditions and perceived benefits. It also depends on demographic characteristics such as age, sex, or education, as well as psychological characteristics such as knowledge, experiences, or... 

Given the challenges that are involved in the use of pesticides in general and the risk perception by consumers in particular, it is all-important that pesticides must be used at levels as low as reasonably achievable . Consequently, the use of chemicals for crop protection should be part of an integrated crop protection system ... 

Information obtained from risk assessments is used to aid public health officials in developing management decisions. However, the public will often view the risks associated with an agent differently than will the scientific experts, even after costly and time-consuming risk assessment efforts have been implemented. These discrepancies may be attributable to difference in how the public and scientific conununities dehne risk, or they may stem from the fundamental lack of trust the public has toward the risk assessment process (Slovic 1991). Regardless, risk perception is an important topic that invariably must be considered before the implementation of regulations or public health management decisions. 

Grobe, D., Douthitt, R. and Zepeda, L. (1999) A model of consumers risk perception toward recombinant bovine growth hormone (rhGH) the impact of risk characteristics. RiskAnalysis 19 (4), 661-673. 

Huang, C.L, S. Misra and S.L. Ott (1990), Modeling Consumer Risk Perception and Choice Behavior The Case of Chemical Residues in Fresh Produce in Mayer, R.N (ed.). Enhancing Consumer Choice, Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Research in the Consumer Interest, Snowbird, Utah, USA, August, 1990, American Council on Consumer Interests, Columbia, Missouri, United States of America. 

---