The Effects of Perceived Risk on Trust in Products Made in China: The Moderating Effect of Familiarity

Abstract

This study's aim was to explore the relationships among consumers' perceived risk, trust, and familiarity with products made in China. We invited 489 Korean adult consumers, who had purchased products made in China earlier, to take part in this investigation. Data analyses were conducted using a reliability test, confirmatory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS ver. 21.0 and AMOS ver. 21.0. We assumed that the perceived risk could be classified into four types: financial, performance, psychological, and social risk. The empirical verification through SEM indicated that all four types of the perceived risk represented a negative influence on the trust. Further, only the financial and psychological risks were significant when consumers were not familiar with products made in China (novice); in contrast, the experts (consumers familiar with products made in China) showed that the performance and social risks were effective. Finally, we found that there was a moderating effect of familiarity on the relationship between three types of perceived risk, namely financial, performance, and psychological risks, and trust, but the social risk was not affected. The results of this research should help us to understand the consumers' risk perception of imported goods and to formulate criteria on the basis of which the consumers evaluate these products. This research can help companies, particularly those in China, to formulate market strategies effectively when they enter a foreign market such as Korea by exploring the influence of the perceived risk on local consumers' purchasing behaviors as well.

How Does NIMBYism Influence Residents’ Behavioral Willingness to Dispose of Waste in Centralized Collection Points?—An Empirical Study of Nanjing, China

“…Hence, this proposed strategies from the aspects of module 3-2 sanitation of CCPs, module 4-1 publicity of waste classification knowledge and module 4-2 clarify the negative impact of CCPs to improve perceived risk. Because perceived risk is closely linked to familiarity and media exposure [ 101 , 102 ]. Therefore, the publicity of waste classification knowledge, which is a strategy of perceived behavioral control, can also improve perceived risk.…”