An integrated model of risk and risk-reducing strategies

We investigate the role of perceived risk in consumers' adoption of risk-reducing strategies in the context of household investment decisions. Specifically, we examine behavioral responses intended to handle both the uncertainty and importance dimensions of perceived risk, incorporating risk propensity as another construct affecting risk-induced behaviors. We find that higher self-efficacy, greater wealth position, and risk-taking propensity lower an individual's perceived risk for investing in the stock market. We also find that perceived risk increases both the amount of information search and transaction frequency while it lowers the proportion of assets invested in the stock market. Risk propensity, on the other hand, increases the likelihood of obtaining investment advice from professionals, as well as the proportion of assets invested in the stock market. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.