Personalization systems: Effects of risk propensity and congruency of suggestive guidance on risk taking behavior

Using a laboratory experiment, this study designs and tests a personalization system that captures an important user personality trait of risk propensity and subsequently offers suggestive guidance that varies in congruency with the users' natural risk taking tendencies. Findings suggest that when the personalization system recommends an aggressive course of action, both high and low propensity individuals take greater risks, with high risk propensity users taking significantly higher risks than low risk propensity users. However, all users make conservative decisions when the system suggests a conservative course of action. In essence, providing incongruent offerings to risk-seeking users nullifies the effects of their risk propensity. As such, the findings suggest that offering congruency interacts with user personality traits. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.