Hope, fear, and consumer behavioral change amid COVID‐19: Application of protection motivation theory

Abstract

Using protection motivation theory (PMT), this study investigates the influence of cognitive assessment and affective response on customers’ behavioral intention amid COVID‐19 in the context of restaurants. More specifically, this research draws attention to (1) the influence of protection motivation (i.e., perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, maladaptive reward, response efficacy, self‐efficacy, response cost) on hope and fear, (2) hope and fear as mediators between protection motivation and behavioral intention, and (3) diverse customer behavioral intentions that have emerged during the COVID‐19 pandemic (i.e., health‐focused behavior, conscious consumption, and the supporting of local businesses and products). A total of 473 completed responses were obtained through an online survey. Structural equation modeling ( SEM ) was employed to test the hypothesized relationships. The research model proposed in the study successfully explained the process in which individuals commit to hygienic behaviors, prioritize local restaurants, and engage in conscious consumption under the threat of COVID‐19. The proposed model can be utilized in examining consumer behaviors in the hospitality industry, especially in the COVID‐19 era.

The COVID-19 crisis does not diminish environmental motivation: Evidence from two panel studies of decision making and self-reported pro-environmental behavior

“…While several studies reported strengthening of environmental motivation (e.g., O'Connor & Assaker, 2021 ; Schiller et al, 2021 ), other studies found no effect of the crisis on environmental motivation (e.g., Lucarelli et al, 2020 ; Rousseau & Deschacht, 2020 ; Čadová, 2020 ). Correspondingly, some studies reported increased (intention to) pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., recycling and waste handling, sustainable food consumption, and sustainable travel behavior; Kim et al, 2021 ; O'Connor & Assaker, 2021 ; Tchetchik et al, 2021 ), whereas other studies reported increased environmentally harmful behavior (e.g., an increase in the use of plastic products; Prata et al, 2020 ).…”

Social Media Marketing as a Branding Strategy in Extraordinary Times: Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Businesses have experienced substantial growth in their online customer base since the start of the pandemic, of which the markets with existing high conversion rates continue to grow [48]. This sudden adversity towards shopping in physical stores might be caused by cognitive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., fear and hope [8]. These factors have been found to mediate the relationship between a consumer's ability to cognitively assess the threat and their behavior [8]; hence, those who experience high levels of fear and perceive the situation to be very threatening will stay home and do their shopping online.…”

“…This sudden adversity towards shopping in physical stores might be caused by cognitive responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, i.e., fear and hope [8]. These factors have been found to mediate the relationship between a consumer's ability to cognitively assess the threat and their behavior [8]; hence, those who experience high levels of fear and perceive the situation to be very threatening will stay home and do their shopping online. Although many consumers indicate that they will most likely continue to shop online, even after stores reopen [49,50], consumer who prefer shopping in physical stores are also forced to adapt to online shopping [10].…”

“…The search protocol of this systematic literature review consists of the following inclusion criteria: the literature sample may only include (1) journal publications, (2) articles, (3) reviews, (4) theses, or (5) conference papers in (6) English. The literature must have been published in 2019 or later (7) and literature is only included if aimed at explaining terminology or phenomena relevant to brand equity, SMM, or the COVID-19 pandemic (8). Lastly, (9) only literature from Scopus, Semantic Scholar, and Google Scholar will be included that is openly accessible or accessible through the license of the University of Twente.…”

“…Subsequently, as more consumers and businesses are adapting to buying and selling through online channels, the digital marketing sphere is becoming more competitive [8]. When looking at the state of digital marketing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, a special emphasis should be put on Social Media Marketing (SMM) as it offers a wide range of tools to target customers more effectively.…”