Buy now or regret later: a new evidence of gasoline panic buying in Vietnam

Abstract

Panic buying which was widespread in many regions during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted supply chains and market economies. Currently, panic buying has once again appeared due to the scarcity of energy and the scene of people rushing to line up at gas stations waiting to buy is the most obvious demonstration. Evidently, this behavior is deemed highly detrimental to societies. Thus, studying the determinants of panic buying is necessary to gain a deeper understanding into them, thereby being able to provide recommendations in constraining the escalation of panic buying behavior. Drawing on the Behavioral Inhibition System Theory, Reactance theory and Regret theories, this paper formulated a theoretical model that linked the determinants of panic buying and analyzed their interrelationships through the data collated from 337 consumers in Ho Chi Minh city. The findings indicate that lack of social trust and social influence have a significant effect on customer percieved's scarcity, hence provoking the act of panic buying behavior directly and indirectly through anticipated regret. Results also surprisingly showed that although there are no differences among age and income toward panic buying behavior, the opposite is true for refueling frequency. Theoretically, this study offers new perspectives in researching panic buying by constructing a new combination of determinants and theories. Furthermore, the study also proposes some managerial implementation to minimize the risk of panic buying.