Risk Aversiveness and Authenticity Signals in Local Product Evaluation
Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Sophomore
Major
Marketing/Entrepreneurship
Minor
Psychology
Institution 25-26
Murray State University
KY House District #
1
KY Senate District #
1
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Ismail Karabas
Department
Marketing Dept.
Abstract
Local products are commonly associated with ethical values, simplicity, and community embeddedness, attributes that contribute to perceptions of authenticity. However, the characteristics often associated with local businesses, such as small scale, informality, and limited standardization, may be signals of uncertainty regarding quality, consistency, or reliability. As a result, perceptions of authenticity for local products may vary across consumers depending on their sensitivity to risk. This research examines how consumers’ risk aversiveness shapes authenticity perceptions and purchase intentions for local products. Across two studies, we examine how risk aversiveness influences perceptions of authenticity and subsequent purchase intentions in a local product context. Study 1 uses survey data to show that higher risk aversion is associated with lower perceived authenticity of local products, which in turn reduces purchase intentions, revealing an indirect effect of risk aversion through authenticity perceptions. Study 2 builds on these findings using an experiment that manipulates authenticity cues for a local product. The results show that the effect of authenticity on purchase intentions is moderated by risk aversiveness, such that the difference between authentic and inauthentic local products is weak at low levels of risk aversiveness but becomes stronger at moderate and high levels of risk aversiveness. Together, these findings suggest that authenticity-based positioning for local products is not uniform across consumers, and that authenticity cues can buffer the negative implications of risk aversiveness for purchase intentions. Local businesses play a central role in Kentucky’s economic development, rural sustainability, and community identity and may be better promoted when substantial authenticity cues are clearly communicated, especially to highly risk-averse consumers.
Risk Aversiveness and Authenticity Signals in Local Product Evaluation
Local products are commonly associated with ethical values, simplicity, and community embeddedness, attributes that contribute to perceptions of authenticity. However, the characteristics often associated with local businesses, such as small scale, informality, and limited standardization, may be signals of uncertainty regarding quality, consistency, or reliability. As a result, perceptions of authenticity for local products may vary across consumers depending on their sensitivity to risk. This research examines how consumers’ risk aversiveness shapes authenticity perceptions and purchase intentions for local products. Across two studies, we examine how risk aversiveness influences perceptions of authenticity and subsequent purchase intentions in a local product context. Study 1 uses survey data to show that higher risk aversion is associated with lower perceived authenticity of local products, which in turn reduces purchase intentions, revealing an indirect effect of risk aversion through authenticity perceptions. Study 2 builds on these findings using an experiment that manipulates authenticity cues for a local product. The results show that the effect of authenticity on purchase intentions is moderated by risk aversiveness, such that the difference between authentic and inauthentic local products is weak at low levels of risk aversiveness but becomes stronger at moderate and high levels of risk aversiveness. Together, these findings suggest that authenticity-based positioning for local products is not uniform across consumers, and that authenticity cues can buffer the negative implications of risk aversiveness for purchase intentions. Local businesses play a central role in Kentucky’s economic development, rural sustainability, and community identity and may be better promoted when substantial authenticity cues are clearly communicated, especially to highly risk-averse consumers.