The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis
Attributed to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, panic buying is now a frequent occurrence in many countries, leading to stockouts and supply chain disruptions. Consequently, it has received much attention from academics and the retail industry. The aim of this study is to review, identify, and synthesis...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2021
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145702 |
| _version_ | 1826129243904409600 |
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| author | Yuen, Kum Fai Wang, Xueqin Ma, Fei Li, Kevin X. |
| author2 | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering |
| author_facet | School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Yuen, Kum Fai Wang, Xueqin Ma, Fei Li, Kevin X. |
| author_sort | Yuen, Kum Fai |
| collection | NTU |
| description | Attributed to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, panic buying is now a frequent occurrence in many countries, leading to stockouts and supply chain disruptions. Consequently, it has received much attention from academics and the retail industry. The aim of this study is to review, identify, and synthesise the psychological causes of panic buying, which is a relatively new and unexplored area in consumer behaviour research. A systematic review of the related literature is conducted. The review suggests that panic buying is influenced by (1) individuals’ perception of the threat of the health crisis and scarcity of products; (2) fear of the unknown, which is caused by negative emotions and uncertainty; (3) coping behaviour, which views panic buying as a venue to relieve anxiety and regain control over the crisis; and (4) social psychological factors, which account for the influence of the social network of an individual. This study contributes to the literature by consolidating the scarce and scattered research on the causes of panic buying, drawing greater theoretical insights into each cause and also offers some implications for health professionals, policy makers, and retailers on implementing appropriate policies and strategies to manage panic buying. Recommendations for future research are also provided. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:37:28Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/145702 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T07:37:28Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1457022021-01-05T06:05:46Z The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis Yuen, Kum Fai Wang, Xueqin Ma, Fei Li, Kevin X. School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Social sciences::Psychology Panic Buying Purchasing Behaviour Attributed to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, panic buying is now a frequent occurrence in many countries, leading to stockouts and supply chain disruptions. Consequently, it has received much attention from academics and the retail industry. The aim of this study is to review, identify, and synthesise the psychological causes of panic buying, which is a relatively new and unexplored area in consumer behaviour research. A systematic review of the related literature is conducted. The review suggests that panic buying is influenced by (1) individuals’ perception of the threat of the health crisis and scarcity of products; (2) fear of the unknown, which is caused by negative emotions and uncertainty; (3) coping behaviour, which views panic buying as a venue to relieve anxiety and regain control over the crisis; and (4) social psychological factors, which account for the influence of the social network of an individual. This study contributes to the literature by consolidating the scarce and scattered research on the causes of panic buying, drawing greater theoretical insights into each cause and also offers some implications for health professionals, policy makers, and retailers on implementing appropriate policies and strategies to manage panic buying. Recommendations for future research are also provided. Nanyang Technological University Published version This research was funded by Nanyang Technological University, Internal Funding, Start-Up Grant, College of Engineering. 2021-01-05T06:05:46Z 2021-01-05T06:05:46Z 2020 Journal Article Yuen, K. F., Wang, X., Ma, F., & Li, K. X. (2020). The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(10), 3513-. doi:10.3390/ijerph17103513 1661-7827 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145702 10.3390/ijerph17103513 32443427 10 17 en International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health © 2020 The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Social sciences::Psychology Panic Buying Purchasing Behaviour Yuen, Kum Fai Wang, Xueqin Ma, Fei Li, Kevin X. The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title | The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title_full | The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title_fullStr | The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title_full_unstemmed | The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title_short | The psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| title_sort | psychological causes of panic buying following a health crisis |
| topic | Social sciences::Psychology Panic Buying Purchasing Behaviour |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145702 |
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