Abstract
Impulsive consumption is a typical behavior that people often present during public health emergencies, which usually leads to negative outcomes. This study investigates how public health emergencies, such as COVID-19, affect people’s impulsive consumption behavior. Data from 1548 individuals in China during the COVID-19 outbreak was collected. The sample covered 297 prefecture-level cities in 31 provincial administrative regions. The research method included the use of a structural equation model to test multiple research hypotheses. The study finds that the severity of a pandemic positively affects people’s impulsive consumption. Specifically, the more severe the pandemic, the more likely people are to make impulsive consumption choices. The results indicate that both perceived control and materialism play mediating roles between the severity of a pandemic and impulsive consumption. As conclusions, people’s impulsive consumption during public health emergencies can be weakened either by enhancing their perceived control or by reducing their materialistic tendency. These conclusions are valuable and useful for a government’s crisis response and disaster risk management.
Highlights
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is global
Based on the above logic analysis, we assume that the COVID-19 pandemic can have a positive effect on people’s impulsive consumption tendency, which would increase with the scale of the pandemic
The results showed that the model fitting indexes of the measurement model met the minimum requirements (See Table 3)
Summary
The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is global In this global public health emergency, people are confronted with mixed information and are uncertain of what the future holds. San Francisco was flooded with more than 500 customers within 30 minutes after it opened, and almost all the bottled water was purchased within hours [2] The impulsive consumption behavior of residents buying up certain commodities can be observed during both the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak and as a result of the Fukushima nuclear power plant leakage [4]. This study considers the impulsive consumption decision of all commodities during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study analyzes the psychological mechanism and the underlying logic of impulsive consumption behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study contributes toward research on advancing disaster risk response plans and provides examples of managing public social emergencies
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