Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh
Since COVID-19 was confirmed in Bangladesh in March 2020, the government have enacted stringent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Food consumption habits of consumers have shifted as a result of declining grocery shopping frequen...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/12/3073 |
| _version_ | 1797504719396012032 |
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| author | Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Judit Oláh József Popp Domicián Máté Sándor Kovács |
| author_facet | Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Judit Oláh József Popp Domicián Máté Sándor Kovács |
| author_sort | Mohammad Fazle Rabbi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Since COVID-19 was confirmed in Bangladesh in March 2020, the government have enacted stringent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Food consumption habits of consumers have shifted as a result of declining grocery shopping frequency, negative income shock, and food prices shooting up. This paper aims to explore Bangladeshi consumers’ buying behaviour in association with the stress generated from a food supply shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-outbreak perception of the food industry, using a dataset with 540 online samples collected between July and August 2021. A two-stage cluster sampling method and self-administrated questionnaire techniques were adopted for collecting the data during the third wave of COVID-19. Using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) and multivariate multiple ordered logit regression (MVORD) to reveal the pertinent structure between all the blocks, this study provides two key findings. First, a higher intensity of COVID-19 impact translates into higher food stress associated with income reduction and higher food prices. Second, food stress directly affects consumer buying and consumption behaviour. We strongly recommend connecting consumers with local producers and collective use of shared warehouses through institutions, policies, and reforms to prevent disruption in the food supply chain and to keep food prices stable. Additionally, food producers, distributors, stakeholders, and policy planners should strengthen the food supply chain to stabilize food security. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:08:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-87677f9c79a546b49adad4c51609fcaa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:08:20Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj.art-87677f9c79a546b49adad4c51609fcaa2023-11-23T08:18:27ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582021-12-011012307310.3390/foods10123073Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of BangladeshMohammad Fazle Rabbi0Judit Oláh1József Popp2Domicián Máté3Sándor Kovács4Károly Ihrig Doctoral School of Management and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryFaculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungaryCollege of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaCollege of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2006, South AfricaFaculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032 Debrecen, HungarySince COVID-19 was confirmed in Bangladesh in March 2020, the government have enacted stringent measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has had a significant impact on people’s lives. Food consumption habits of consumers have shifted as a result of declining grocery shopping frequency, negative income shock, and food prices shooting up. This paper aims to explore Bangladeshi consumers’ buying behaviour in association with the stress generated from a food supply shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-outbreak perception of the food industry, using a dataset with 540 online samples collected between July and August 2021. A two-stage cluster sampling method and self-administrated questionnaire techniques were adopted for collecting the data during the third wave of COVID-19. Using partial least squares path modelling (PLS-PM) and multivariate multiple ordered logit regression (MVORD) to reveal the pertinent structure between all the blocks, this study provides two key findings. First, a higher intensity of COVID-19 impact translates into higher food stress associated with income reduction and higher food prices. Second, food stress directly affects consumer buying and consumption behaviour. We strongly recommend connecting consumers with local producers and collective use of shared warehouses through institutions, policies, and reforms to prevent disruption in the food supply chain and to keep food prices stable. Additionally, food producers, distributors, stakeholders, and policy planners should strengthen the food supply chain to stabilize food security.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/12/3073food securityCOVID-19food supply chain managementconsumer behaviour |
| spellingShingle | Mohammad Fazle Rabbi Judit Oláh József Popp Domicián Máté Sándor Kovács Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh Foods food security COVID-19 food supply chain management consumer behaviour |
| title | Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh |
| title_full | Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh |
| title_fullStr | Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh |
| title_short | Food Security and the COVID-19 Crisis from a Consumer Buying Behaviour Perspective—The Case of Bangladesh |
| title_sort | food security and the covid 19 crisis from a consumer buying behaviour perspective the case of bangladesh |
| topic | food security COVID-19 food supply chain management consumer behaviour |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/10/12/3073 |
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