TY - JOUR
T1 - What do we know about consumers’ ontological security in disaster scenarios?
AU - Fawaz, Rayan
AU - Bourliataux-Lajoinie, Stéphane
AU - Rößner, Anna
AU - Okazaki, Shintaro
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the Editor‐in‐Chief, Dr Justin Paul, the Associate Editor, Dr Carmen Valor, and three anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful readings of the manuscript and guidance throughout the review process. The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Yoshida Hideo Memorial Foundation for the data collection and from King's Business School for the preparation of the manuscript. This article is part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation, supervised by the last author at King's Business School.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. International Journal of Consumer Studies published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2023/7
Y1 - 2023/7
N2 - While prior consumer studies have adopted various theoretical perspectives to explain individuals' reactions to disasters, scant attention has been paid to the role of ontological security in shaping those responses. This study attempts to fill this knowledge gap by qualitatively exploring ontological security in two contexts: man-made and natural disasters. To this end, we conducted 35 focus groups in the UK, Germany, and France to address how people reacted to terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic respectively. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: fear versus anxiety, oneself versus others, and materialistic versus experiential purchases. Man-made disasters appear to elicit fear, concern for self, and a preference for materialistic purchases, whereas natural disasters seem to trigger anxiety, concern for others, and a preference for experiential purchases. Both types of disasters seem to evoke a desire to escape from reality. In closing, we discuss both transitory and prolonged threats to ontological security and how they shape individuals' behaviours while restoring their security.
AB - While prior consumer studies have adopted various theoretical perspectives to explain individuals' reactions to disasters, scant attention has been paid to the role of ontological security in shaping those responses. This study attempts to fill this knowledge gap by qualitatively exploring ontological security in two contexts: man-made and natural disasters. To this end, we conducted 35 focus groups in the UK, Germany, and France to address how people reacted to terrorist attacks and the COVID-19 pandemic respectively. Through thematic analysis, three themes emerged: fear versus anxiety, oneself versus others, and materialistic versus experiential purchases. Man-made disasters appear to elicit fear, concern for self, and a preference for materialistic purchases, whereas natural disasters seem to trigger anxiety, concern for others, and a preference for experiential purchases. Both types of disasters seem to evoke a desire to escape from reality. In closing, we discuss both transitory and prolonged threats to ontological security and how they shape individuals' behaviours while restoring their security.
KW - anxiety
KW - consumer response
KW - disasters
KW - fear
KW - materialistic/experiential purchases
KW - ontological security
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85150853257&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12926
DO - DOI: 10.1111/ijcs.12926
M3 - Article
SN - 1470-6423
VL - 47
SP - 1483
EP - 1499
JO - International Journal Of Consumer Studies
JF - International Journal Of Consumer Studies
IS - 4
ER -
