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The Influence of Intangibility on Perceived Evaluation Difficulty and Risk: Brand and
Generic Product-Category Perspectives
Michel Laroche, Concordia University
Maria Kalamas, Concordia University
Gordon H. G. McDougall, Wilfrid Laurier University
Filip Bartos, Concordia University
Yi Zhong, Concordia University
Abstract
As virtual products/services have emerged in consumer markets, intangibility has assumed an important role
in marketing, shifting from a service-exclusive term to a product-related one as well. A three-dimensional
intangibility construct, which includes physical intangibility, mental intangibility, and generality, has
recently been identified. While this finding has advanced our understanding of intangibility per se, little has
been done in relating this new operationalization to consumer behavior and especially branding strategies.
Thus, the focus of this research is to study whether brands, as opposed to generic product-categories,
efficiently reduce risk and evaluation difficulty when the product/service is perceived to be intangible. Our
results show brands to be major intangibility-reducers for services but not for products. Brands also variably
reduce the effects of the three types of intangibility on perceived evaluation difficulty and risk. In our holistic
model, knowledge and/or involvement moderate the relationships between intangibility and, perceived risk
and/or difficulty of evaluation. We also uncover differences between the moderating effects of knowledge
and involvement in our comparisons of the branded and generic contexts. In light of our findings, we make
brand-related recommendations, which are of interest to both academicians and practitioners.
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