Although understanding what risks are perceived by
various segments is a valuable piece of information in its
own right, from a managerial perspective, learning how to
reduce perceived risk and what actions reduce risk for which
types of customers is even more valuable. Prior research
examining risk perceptions in marketing has found that risk
perceptions are negatively correlated with willingness to
buy (Shimp and Bearden, 1982; White and Truly, 1989).
Since many online marketers focus either primarily on male
or primarily on female consumers, understanding how
gender influences the effect of receiving a site recommendation
from a friend could be useful in helping to tailor one’s
risk reducing strategies to the customers being targeted. Our
second and third study investigate how gender influences
the effect of receiving a recommendation from a friend on
both perceptions of risk and willingness to purchase online
from a conventional outle