Digital Risk and Communicating with the Use of ICTs during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Today, there is a growing use of digital media and ICTs, which can result in interacting by customers more and more complexly with stakeholders of the purchasing process and contributing to the appearance of specific risks. This is particularly important in the COVID-19 pandemic, when the development of e-commerce is observed. Therefore, the study assumes that digital risk in purchasing processes should be taken into account and estimated by customers. The aim of the study is to identify a potential relationship between the level of perceived digital risk (i.e. the complexity and importance of digital risk) and the way customers communicate with stakeholders in purchasing processes under the COVID-19 pandemic. The empirical study was conducted in the CATI form on a sample of 320 Polish customers who regularly make online purchases (at least 5 purchases in electronic form in the last 6 months). The empirical study was conducted between March 2020 and April 2020. The data analyses were supported by the IBM SPSS Statistics version 26. The research methods are as follows: the analysis of basic descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlations, factor analysis (i.e. Principal Components Analysis method – PCA), as well as one-way ANOVA. In particular, the study showed that: (1) customers in purchasing processes do not communicate with stakeholders primarily using digital means under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, (2) the complexity of digital risk and the importance of digital risk in customers’ opinion (in purchasing processes) are not at a high level under the COVID-19 pandemic, (3) there is not a strong correlation between the level of complexity of digital risk, as well as the importance of digital risk and the communication of customers (in purchasing processes) with stakeholders using digital media in the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as (4) the perception level of the complexity and importance of digital risk (in purchasing processes) varies significantly in terms of the level of use of ICTs by customers in communicating with stakeholders in the COVID-19 pandemic.