Drivers of consumers’ panic purchase behaviour in the Covid-19 crisis: validation of an affective and cognitive channel model

ABSTRACT

We test a model of panic buying behaviour. The model includes an affective and a cognitive effect channel to explain panic buying. The model is validated based on a sample of German consumers collected during the first phase of the Covid-19 crisis. The results show that panic buying is more strongly influenced by cognitive constructs (e.g. norms) than by an affective construct (i.e. negative emotions) and its successors.

KEYWORDS:

• Consumer psychology
• retailing
• cross-sectional study
• questionnaire
• structural equation modelling (SEM)
• panic buying
• Covid-19

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. See https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/politik/corona-chronik-chronologie-coronavirus-100.html.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jörg Lindenmeier

Jörg Lindenmeier is Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany. His research interests include non-profit management, consumer psychology, and business ethics. His work has been published in the Journal of Business Research, Nonprofit & Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Marketing Letters, Journal of Travel Research, and the Journal of Marketing Management, amongst others.

Hannah-Maria Hodges

Hannah-Maria Hodges was student research assistant at the chair of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She currently works as project manager at a public energy supplier in Freiburg, Germany.

Iris Saliterer

Iris Saliterer is Professor of Public and Nonprofit Management at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Her research interests include the accounting and auditing of public organisations, the resilience of municipalities, behavioural public management, and public personnel management. Her work has been published in the Public Management Review, Public Administration, and the International Review of Administrative Sciences, amongst others.