بررسی تاثیر ترس ناشی از همه گیری کووید- 19 بر رفتار خرید مصرف کننده(موردمطالعه: گروه های مختلف نسلی ایران)

هدف: شیوع ویروس کرونا تاثیرات گسترده‌ای بر زندگی روزمره، رفتار مصرف‌کننده و نحوه عملکرد کسب‌وکارها داشته است. هدف این پژوهش، بررسی تاثیر ترس ناشی از همه‌گیری کووید-19 (شامل ترس از سلامتی و ترس از شرایط اقتصادی) بر رفتار خرید مصرف‌کنندگان در گروه‌های نسلی مختلف است.روش‌شناسی پژوهش: این مطالعه از نظر ماهیت، توصیفی-پیمایشی و از نظر هدف، کاربردی است. جامعه آماری شامل کلیه مصرف‌کنندگان در استان‌های تهران، اصفهان، فارس، آذربایجان شرقی و البرز است. نمونه‌گیری به‌صورت تصادفی خوشه‌ای انجام شده و حجم نمونه 368 نفر است. برای جمع‌آوری داده‌ها از پرسش‌نامه (به‌صورت آنلاین و چاپی) استفاده شده است. روایی ابزار با نظر خبرگان و پیش‌آزمون، و پایایی آن با محاسبه آلفای کرونباخ تایید شده است. تحلیل داده‌ها با استفاده از نرم‌افزار spss26 انجام گرفته است.یافته‌ها: نتایج نشان داد که ترس از سلامتی و ترس از شرایط اقتصادی، هردو به تغییر در رفتار خرید مصرف‌کنندگان منجر شده‌اند. همچنین، تفاوت معناداری میان نسل‌های مختلف از نظر میزان ترس (هم از نظر سلامتی و هم اقتصادی) و رفتار خرید وجود دارد.اصالت / ارزش‌افزوده علمی: این پژوهش با تمرکز بر تحلیل مقایسه‌ای بین نسل‌های مختلف در دوران پاندمی، به درک بهتر از تغییرات رفتاری مصرف‌کنندگان کمک می‌کند و می‌تواند راهنمایی موثر برای تصمیم‌گیری‌های بازاریابی و مدیریتی در شرایط بحران‌های مشابه آینده باشد.

investigating the impact of covid-19 pandemic-related fear on consumer purchasing behavior (case study: different generational groups)

introduction the covid-19 pandemic, as one of the unprecedented challenges of the current century, has had widespread impacts on various aspects of human life. among its most significant effects are changes in lifestyle, attitudes, and consumer purchasing behavior. considering the generational differences in experiences and values, examining how different generations responded to the covid-19 crisis—and the extent of fear it induced (in terms of health and economic concerns)—can lead to a better understanding of consumption patterns and purchasing behavior. literature review previous studies have clearly shown that fear, especially during health crises such as the covid-19 pandemic, is one of the most important psychological reactions in humans and can play a decisive role in changing consumer purchasing behavior (addo et al., 2020; eger et al., 2021). in this context, individuals' reactions to these fears can be influenced by various factors, including generational characteristics. generations, as groups with shared historical and social experiences, exhibit different behavioral patterns when facing crises (parment, 2013; jafarzadeh pour, 2017). however, to date, no comprehensive research has simultaneously examined the impact of different dimensions of covid-19-related fear (fear of health and fear of economic situation) on purchasing behavior among different iranian generations. this research gap explains the necessity and innovation of the present study.research methodologythe present study is a descriptive-survey in nature and applied in terms of its objective. the statistical population includes all consumers in five provinces: tehran, isfahan, fars, east azerbaijan, and alborz. sampling was conducted using cluster random sampling. the data collection tool was a questionnaire adapted from the study by eger et al. (2021), consisting of 26 items. the questionnaire’s validity was confirmed through expert opinions and a pilot test, and its reliability was verified with a cronbach’s alpha of 0.763. data analysis was performed using spss 26 software and statistical tests such as regression, analysis of variance (anova), and tukey’s test.resultsthe results revealed that both fear of health and fear of economic conditions significantly influenced changes in consumer purchasing behavior. moreover, significant differences were found among generations in the levels of fear related to both health and economic aspects. in addition, purchasing behaviors varied significantly across generations, indicating that responses to fears triggered by the covid-19 crisis are shaped by generational characteristics.discussion and conclusionthe research findings indicate that fear—especially fear of health—is a significant factor influencing changes in consumer purchasing behavior during the covid-19 pandemic. moreover, reactions to these fears vary notably across different generations. these findings highlight that policymakers, marketing managers, and business practitioners can develop more effective strategies for managing consumer behavior and designing targeted advertising messages in times of crisis by better understanding these generational differences. by leveraging this knowledge, they can significantly enhance the efficiency of marketing programs and improve customer satisfaction in challenging times.conflict of interestthe author (s) of this article declared no conflict of interest regarding the authorship or publication of this article.