The Role of Perceived Risk in Wine Purchase Decisions in Restaurants

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the level of perceived risk and implementation of risk-reduction strategies (RRS) regarding the consumer wine purchase decision in the fine dining restaurant environment. The study seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of elements within the control, or influence of the restaurant (staff, reputation, previous visitation and previous consumption) on reducing the perceived risk of consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Data are collected through the use of a self-administered, highly structured questionnaire in a well established fine dining restaurant in central Adelaide, South Australia over a three week period in April and May 2008. The sample consists of restaurant consumers who made a wine purchase decision at the restaurant during the collection period. A response rate of 85 per cent is achieved resulting in 105 useable questionnaires. Findings – A low overall level of perceived risk is noted in the wine purchase decision-making process in the fine dining environment. The restaurant’s reputation and advice from staff are found to be important RRS with a high incidence of utilisation. The reputation of the restaurant, incidence of previous visitation and previous consumption of the wine ordered in the restaurant, are all found to reduce the level of perceived consumer risk. A significant incidence of customers engaging in riskseeking behaviour through selecting wines with which they are unfamiliar, is also noted. Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research suggest that the overall level of risk associated with the consumer wine purchase decision may be lower than previously observed and can be reduced through measures within the restaurant management’s control. Although tentative due to the exploratory nature of this study, these findings may provide useful insights to the wine and restaurant industries and would benefit from further investigation on a larger scale. Originality/value – This study is of value to academic researchers, restaurant managers/sommeliers and the wine industry as it highlights important aspects of consumer behaviour with regard to wine purchases in a growing and lucrative sector of the on-premise trade