Buy or Die: An Investigation of Consumers’ Intention to Engage in Unusual Purchasing Behavior Through the Lens of Stimulus-Organism-Response Approach

The existing dearth of knowledge concerning consumers’ tendency to engage in unusual purchasing behavior has sparked a scholarly appeal for comprehensive research in this area. This study investigated consumers’ intention to engage in unusual purchasing when people received information on the global supply chain disruption from multiple online information sources and explored how consumers behave in such unique situations. This study employed the stimulus-organism-response approach and tested the impact of exposure to online information sources on voluntary self-isolation and unusual purchase behavior. Data were collected from 292 bank employees through an online survey using Google Forms. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was performed to assess the data using SMART PLS 3.3.4. Research findings indicated that the intention to self-isolate was linked with the intention to engage in unusual purchasing. Results also showed that exposure to online information sources leads to perceived severity and information overload. Findings also indicated that perceived severity had a significant impact on the respondent’s intention to engage in unusual purchasing. This study leads to the development of a comprehensive understanding of the underlying reasons behind consumers’ unusual purchasing behavior in the consumer and retail markets during the COVID- 19 pandemic.