Health-Seeking Consumer: Cognitive Dissonance Encountered After Panic Buying

Abstract

This study aims to specify whether the “health-seeking” consumers’ information overload and cyberchondria that arise as a result of the information they acquire, cause panic buying and whether these purchases can later cause cognitive dissonance. The study sample, for which an online survey method was preferred, consisted of consumers aged 18 years and older who stated that they made panic purchases due to health concerns. Structural equation modeling and mediation analyses were applied to analyze the data in the study, which included 400 participants. The findings showed that health information seeking has an effective on information overload; both information and communication overload have an effective on cyberchondria; cyberchondria has an effective on panic buying and cognitive dissonance dimensions. Panic buying has an effective on cognitive dissonance dimensions and has a mediating effect between cyberchondria and cognitive dissonance dimensions. People's health concerns are a constant, which will in turn lead to a cycle of seeking information. With this foresight, the research investigates the consumers’ panic buying. However, proposed research model does not end with panic buying. The focus is on the response of the consumer after these purchases, and this is thought to be a contribution to the literature.