¡§Internet¡¨ not only change our life, also increase a source for information searching before we make decision. However, the quantity of information provided from internet surpass the capability of human. The purposes of the study were to discuss how consumers search information in internet, and how consumer information search behavior be different because of internet. Among all industry in Taiwan, tourism is the best industry in applying e-commence. Further, 95 percent people in Taiwan are backpackers, so backpacker is a trend of people traveling in Taiwan. As a result, the study choose backpacker as subject to observe consumer information search behavior in internet. The study follows Schmidt & Spreng¡¦s model which indicate that perceived risk, perceived benefit, and search ability are variables of information search behavior. Besides, personal character is also a variable of internet information search behavior. According to an on-lined survey at 2003 with 1931 valid samples, 4 factors of internet perceived benefits were extracted. They were ¡§entertainment¡¨, ¡§ease of use¡¨, ¡§efficiency of using information¡¨, and ¡§useful¡¨. The factors of internet perceived risk were ¡¨credibility and significance¡¨, ¡§security¡¨, and ¡§time¡¨. The factors of backpack perceived benefits were ¡§cheerful¡¨, ¡§innovational¡¨, ¡§functional¡¨, ¡§economic¡¨ and ¡§signal¡¨. The factors of backpack perceived risk were ¡§money loss¡¨, ¡§bad route of travel¡¨, ¡§damage to friendship¡¨, ¡§heavy duty¡¨ and ¡§not economic¡¨. Many clusters were formed and they are significant different in information search behavior in internet according to chi-square test. The study result also shows that different personal character has different information search behavior in internet; Both ¡§the composition of travel party¡¨ and ¡§backpacker¡¦s travel ability and experience¡¨ have influence on backpacker¡¦s perception of travel; ¡§the experience and ability of using internet¡¨ and ¡§internet perceived benefit¡¨ are direct proposition, on the contrary, the experience and ability of using internet¡¨ and ¡§internet perceived benefit¡¨ are inverse proposition; most of backpackers are good educated and have good income; the purpose of backpacker is mainly to get flexible route of travel, and the economic factor is the last important of all.

This study is based on the Zeithaml¡¦s Means-End model. Moreover, this study examines how the on-line travel store image affects the perceived value of consumer. It adopts to evaluate the effect of perceived value by different store image dimensions, such as the store factors, the service, the design of websites, the merchandise, the promotion, the satisfaction after sale. The finding of the research is as followed. 1. The variables of age and income of demographic statistics can cause the difference of perceived value. 2. Different usage habits cause the difference of perceived value. 3. The attributes of store factors and merchandise of the on-line travel store image affect significantly to the perceived quality. 4. The attributes of the merchandise and the satisfaction after sale of the on-line travel store image has a negative affection on the perceived risk. 5. The perceived quality has a negative affection on the perceived risk. 6. The perceived quality has a positive affection on the perceived value; on the contrary, the perceived risk has a negative affection on perceived value.

Because the government changed laws and opened the market progressively in recent years, the financial market in Taiwan becomes more and more liberal and international; every investor has to face a more complicated investitive environment. They can choice many investitive objects and tools, but how to choice the best one is a big problem for them and the risk in the financial market becomes much higher. Mutual fund is a popular investment tools in recent year. One of the mutual fund¡¦s benefits is the diversity of investment and effectively disperses risk.. In August 2006, the government in Taiwan opens up the market of mutual fund; the investors can buy offshore mutual funds in many channels, so they can choice many kinds of mutual funds, about 1,400 in April 2008. Also, every investor that can beat the level of risk is so different, it maybe make them confused and really want to know which one is much better and do asset allocation very well. Therefore, how to design a good portfolio for different perceived risk levels of investors is a worthful topic in the academia and the really world. This research uses the genetic algorithm to construct mutual fund portfolios based on perceived risk levels, use fund return, standard deviation, Alpha, Beta, Sharpe, IR and Sortino indicators to select funds of a portfolio and calculate portfolio return and standard deviation, then do asset allocation. This research change funds in every portfolio every month using Sliding Windows method from Jan 1, 2001 to Dec 12, 2007, totally 84 times. The result of this research is every portfolio average return wins benchmark index average return. The standard deviation of every portfolio also wins benchmark index standard deviation. It shows this research can beat benchmark index effectively and also can decrease the risk of portfolio return, then we can get a good fund portfolio for different perceived risk levels of investors

This thesis is a participant observer case study that examined how three primary intervening variables (resources, trust, and risk communication) influenced the amplification and attenuation of perceived risk during a regulatory permitting process. The objective was to better understand the role of risk perception in a water policy decision, the issuance of a permit by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to the Waco Metropolitan Regional Sewerage System permitting them to discharge 1.5 million gallons of waste water effluent a day into Bull Hide Creek. The study took place between March 2008 and October 2009. The plant, designed to serve the sewer needs of distant cities, was planned without the participation of the residents of the creek community. After being notified of the permit application, they organized to protest the issuance of the permit which they felt presented a serious risk to their community. It is the conclusion of this researcher that risk perception played a key role delaying the issuance of the permit and construction of the plant. When perceived risk attenuated to a mutually acceptable level for all stakeholders, the permit was issued. It is postulated that if risk perception is recognized as a significant factor in potentially controversial urban and regional planning and policy decisions, implementation may be less difficult. The validity of this conclusion is constrained due to the fact this was a single case study and generalization is limited.

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In a time during which the consumer has the choice of many similar products (Burnett, 2007), retailers seek business growth and competiveness, for example through the introduction of their own private label (Pepe, 2008). Thus the interest and relevance of private labels has increased in recent years (Nielsen, 2014; Gázquez-Abad et al., 2014). As studies have shown, the consumers’ perception and loyalty towards brands and private labels can vary across countries leading to the topic of the study, namely a comparison of the consumers’ loyalty and perception of private labels in Greece and Germany. Thus, the relationship between the cultures and the consumers’ behaviour is evaluated towards possible differences. Using the quantitative research approach, a self-completion questionnaire was answered by both 140 German and 140 Greek consumers. Through analysing the data, the validity of six hypotheses was measured. This way, the question regarding possible differences in consumers’ loyalty and perception of private labels in Greece and Germany could be answered. As a result to this question, the main differences refer to the Greeks’ high loyalty towards manufacturer brands and the low perceived quality of private labels in comparison with German consumers. Thus, most importantly, Greek consumers have to be convinced of the good quality of private labels in order to lower their perceived risk, try the products and be less loyal to manufacturer brands.

Following the economic theory of averting behaviour, this thesis examines preferences for drinking water in Canada. Probabilistic mortality risk perceptions and other perceived water quality measures are included in econometric models of choice, and assessed for their impact, and value. The perceived risk variable is tested for adherence to the theoretical prediction of proportionality in risk reduction values. Data were gathered through an online survey where individuals reported water quality perceptions, mortality risk perceptions and expenditures on drinking water. Risk perceptions were gathered using a risk ladder. Resulting models suggested the existence of two classes within the Canadian population. A risk-sensitive class produced a significant coefficient on the perceived mortality risk variable. A second, risk-insensitive, non-compensatory class did not produce a significant risk coefficient, and analysis suggests that these individuals primarily consume tap water. Contrary to theoretical predictions, tests for proportionality suggest favourability of models with non-linear coefficients on risk variables. / Agricultural and Resources Economics

Several studies have shown that there is a negative impact of perceived risk on trust and on the online purchasing behaviour of buyers. Other research suggests a positive impact. However, these relationships have been suggested by using evidence obtained from the purchase of inexpensive, uncomplicated, and hence low risk products such as books, compact disks (CD’s, DVD’s), or clothing. Exploring whether such associations could be generalised within the complex, costly high risk and credence products such as gemstones has not been examined. This gap in the literature was addressed in this study. The results of the study suggest that perceived risk and trust are significant determinants of the online purchasing behaviour of gemstone buyers. The study also shows that the type of Internet marketing strategy used by the seller (the place strategy) and the buyer’s privacy, and security concerns influence a buyer’s perceived risk to purchase gemstones online. Furthermore, Internet fraud protection has been found to be the only significant factor that has an influence on the buyer’s trust to purchase gemstones online. These results have implications for the literature, and all sellers and consumers.

Problem: The risk of online shopping differs from consumer to consumer. Previous scienceshow that consumers experience a higher risk related to online shopping, compared topurchase in traditional stores. The reason behind this is that there is no possibility to physically inspect the product before the purchase is completed, and most people want to try and feel the clothes before they decide to buy it. Also there is no opportunity to create an opinion about the seller, since there is no physical interaction between the customer and the ecommerce, which creates difficulty in assessing whether it is a reliable seller or not. An actionto reduce the consumers perceived risk is by creating a trustworthy impression. Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers perceive risks related buy ingclothes online, and if confidence in the e-commerce affects the risk level. Method: The research method for this study was qualitative, with a deductive approach. Data collection was developed through eight semi- structured interviews, in which participant werechosen from a convenience selection from the Stockholm area. Focusing on individuals between the age of 20- 45. Result: The study found that consumers who purchase clothes more often experience a lower risk related to online shopping, compared to those who do it rarely. The two distinct risks that respondents experienced in online shopping were the risk related to the clothes and the financial transaction. Results also showed that trust towards e-commerce has a decisive impact on the degree of risk, and how confident a consumer feels ahead of buying clothes online. It was found that the most effective trust-creating approach was contently information about the clothes, and several payment options. Additionally the results shows that consumers reduce the perceived risk level of online purchase through viral marketing, which is word-of mouth.

This research aimed to explore the social representation of a ‘risky identity’ with regard to HIV. 12 students participated in the research and these participants were required to take photographs regarding their perceptions of a ‘risky identity’. Each participant also took part in a semi-structured interview that prompted discussion of the photographs and the different factors perceived to influence the risk of HIV infection. These interviews were audiorecorded and transcribed. Discourse analysis was used to analyse the data and how the participants position the ‘other’ as more at risk of HIV infection than the self. The analysis also revealed that the most common factor perceived to influence the risk of HIV infection is substance use. Other factors include: gender, race, age, and socio-economic status. Interestingly, the participants found it easier to attribute risk to behavioural and environmental factors, whereas they were more reluctant to associate risk with factors such as race and gender. In fact, when doing so, many of the participants emphasised the impact of environmental and behavioural factors as a means to justify their perceptions. The risk of justifying social representations in such a manner is that prejudiced attitudes remain, just in a seemingly more socially acceptable form. Subsequently, it is recommended that HIV prevention programs go beyond education to critical discussions about issues of identity and the social representations and risk perceptions influencing sexual behaviour.