Do not run out of toilet paper! The risk communication on perceived risk on consumer behavior during the crisis COVID-19

Abstract

Purpose At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing measures and diffuse communication by media led to consumers’ uncontrolled product purchases worldwide. This phenomenon was described as a psychological effect experienced by fictitious scarcity, anxiety and herd mentality exacerbated by the media. This exploratory study aims to analyze the impact of risk communication on the perceived risk from the psychological dimension of consumer behavior amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory study was conducted through an electronic survey one week after implementing social distancing measures in Puerto Rico. With a sample of 353 participants, the data analysis was carried out by PLS-SEM, partial least squares structural equations (PLS-MGA), multi group test (MGA) and hierarchical component models to answer the research hypotheses. Findings The results revealed that risk communication activates the perceived psychological risk during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the way in which the consumer faces the psychological risk is explained by the perceptions of scarcity and the bandwagon effect. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is a pioneer in presenting relationships between risk communication and perceived risk in consumer behavior, a topic that needs to be addressed in the academic literature. The research makes significant contributions to the study of consumer behavior by empirically validating the three phases of the Conchar model – risk framing, risk assessment and risk evaluation – where risk communication offers an excellent delineation to understand the consumer’s behavior during a pandemic.

Online information acquisition affects food risk prevention behaviours: the roles of topic concern, information credibility and risk perception

“…The view of the “mediatization of risk” holds that the media play an important role in the process of risk perception [ 30 ]. On the one hand, the media provide crucial information channels for the public to recognize risks [ 31 ], especially when people cannot personally experience risk events and can only understand relevant risk information through the media; the role of media information is self-evident. Mobile apps are a health intervention method, and updated information can greatly improve users’ knowledge of diseases and preventive behaviours [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Utjecaj pandemije COVID-19 na kupovno ponašanje

“…Kriza može razotkriti pravu prirodu ljudi, a to je jednako primjenjivo i na potrošače i njihovo ponašanje u kriznim uvjetima. Od početka pandemije krajem 2019. godine, uz naglašene uvjete rizika i neizvjesnosti, došlo je do promjena u zahtjevima i ponašanju potrošača (Desai, Studente & Garivaldis, 2022), ali i naglašene nekontrolirane kupnje proizvoda (Dones et al, 2023). S jedne strane, poraslo je neodgovorno ponašanje potrošača koje se ogledalo u gomilanju velikih količina određenih vrsta proizvoda, što je dalje utjecalo na povećanu percepciju oskudice i izazvalo strah kod drugih potrošača.…”