An integrated taxonomy of consumers of financial services: the role of perceived risk, effort and involvement

Abstract

The intense competitive pressure that financial service providers are facing in today's global market, requires careful planning and execution of marketing strategies. A classification scheme of consumers of financial services could provide marketing scholars and managers with useful insights in better understanding these consumers. This study attempts to investigate possible factors that may explain consumer behaviour in financial services. The proposed taxonomy integrates previous products typologies and classifies consumers of financial services based on the products they buy and their perceptions of risk, effort and involvement with the financial products. This classification scheme provides theoretical and managerial implications to financial services providers by identifying the most appropriate marketing strategies to increase the consumer retention and company profitability.