Unleashing Heaven’s Power: How Faith Motivates Consumer Exercise Behavior during a Pandemic

Abstract

Exercise behavior and mental well-being have decreased in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through three studies, we investigate consumer demographic characteristics and associated psychological mechanisms leading to more favorable exercise behavior in response to a pandemic so as to encourage all consumers to engage in healthy exercise behavior. Study 1 shows that religiosity positively influences exercise behavior (including purchase of exerciserelated products) in response to a pandemic, and this relationship is mediated by sense of power. Study 2 then primes religion, replicating these findings and explains the relationship between religiosity and exercise through an approach mindset and an increased sense of power. Both Studies 1 and 2 also rule out numerous competing explanations for the relationship between religiosity and exercise behavior. Study 3 adds external validity with behavioral data from consumers' step counting smartphone apps and smart tracking devices. Findings build on terror management theory, and implications for marketers and policy makers are provided.

Prosocial responses to global crises: Key influences of religiosity and perceived control

“…Thus, we contribute to belief congruence theory by showing that consumption in response to global crises is not just due to differences in belief (i.e., religion) but are also influenced by the magnitude of one's belief (i.e., religiosity). This research also contributes to the literature on religion's influence on consumption (e.g., Mathras et al, 2016; Mortimer et al, 2020; Nwankwo et al, 2014) and consumption behavior in relation to global crises (e.g., Minton & Cabano, 2021; Minton, Wang, & Anthony, 2022; Swim et al, 2009) by showing that reliance on religious beliefs is prevalent during global crises, and consumers tend to behave in a way that is consistent with their beliefs.…”

“…To better assess the influence of religiosity on prosocial responses, religion was primed in this study using a writing task taken from prior research (Minton, Wang, & Anthony, 2022). In both conditions, participants were asked to write at least five sentences on a randomly assigned topic.…”

“…This reduced concern occurs because religious consumers turn to their faith to find peace during troubling times (Park, 2007), evidenced through trusting a higher being that things will work out as they should and reducing stress associated with problems that otherwise would need to be solved personally (Krause, 2005; Wallston et al, 1999). For example, higher religiosity consumers have been shown to use more positive coping mechanisms both in the context of a global pandemic (Minton, Wang, & Anthony, 2022) and natural disaster (Lim et al, 2019). As such, we expect that higher religiosity consumers will feel more at peace when faced with global crises leading to a negative relationship between religiosity and global crisis concern.…”

The effect of religiosity on customer's response to service failure: Belief‐in‐fate, forgiveness, and emotional wellbeing

“…Consistent with the theory of reasoned action, the consumer behavior literature supports the notion that religion has a significant impact on various consumers' attitudes and behaviors, including attitudes towards advertisements with religious symbols (Kalliny et al, 2020); willingness to vote for environmental policies (Johnson et al, 2017), materialistic consumption (La Barbera and Gurhan, 1997), food waste (Minton et al, 2022), and financial decision‐making (Sarofim et al, 2020).…”

“…This research offers practical implications related to consumer affairs that would benefit different audiences, including consumers, marketers, and consumer advocacy groups. As consumers deal with stress in the marketplace, understanding how to cope and strive to achieve a state of well‐being deem important (Minton et al, 2022). This study informs consumers of the positive impact of service forgiveness on enhancing emotional well‐being.…”