Perceived Resilience and Vulnerability during the Pandemic-Infused Panic Buying and the Role of COVID Conspiracy Beliefs. Evidence from Pakistan

Abstract

Drawing on theoretical streams of compensatory control theory, regulatory focus theory, and cognitive load theory, this study proposes and validates a model to illustrate the underlying mechanism of panic buying behavior in an online context during the COVID-19 pandemic. Building on the scholarly research on compensatory control theory, regulatory focus theory, and cognitive load theory, this study is one of the preliminary attempts to investigate the relationship between consumer’s perceived resilience and vulnerability with COVID-19 threat perceptions and panic buying. This paper also provides a novel empirical inquiry into the moderating role of COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs. Using an online survey, a total of 395 usable responses were collected. The data were collected during the lockdown imposed in May-June 2021 in Pakistan after the country was hit with the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall findings signaled that resilient consumers perceived a lesser threat of COVID-19 as compared to vulnerable consumers, and consequently, panic buying disposition was more prevalent among the vulnerable consumers. COVID-19 conspiracy beliefs exhibited significant interaction effects. The implications for the e-commerce sector in general and online retailers, mainly, are discussed regarding panic buying and personality type of consumers.