Effects of Sentiment on Impulsive Buying Behavior: Evidence of COVID-19 in Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of positive and negative sentiment on impulsive buying behavior among Indonesian people based on the theory of stimulus organism response (S-O-R). First, it examines how COVID-19 information, information credibility, and scarcity affects positive sentiment and negative sentiment. Second, it studies the influence of positive sentiment and negative sentiment on impulsive buying tendencies and impulsive buying behavior. Third, it examines the impulsive buying tendency impacts on impulsive buying behavior. Data was collected from Indonesian residents living in a COVID-19 red zone using an online survey via Google form. There were 320 respondents completed the survey. The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM). The study found that COVID-19 information and information credibility have a positive effect on positive sentiment, while it has an insignificant effect on negative sentiment. Scarcity has a positive effect on negative sentiment, but it has no significant effect on positive sentiment. Both positive sentiment and negative sentiment have positive effects on impulsive buying tendencies. Only positive sentiment has a positive effect on impulsive buying behavior, while negative sentiment does not. Finally, impulsive buying tendencies have a positive effect on impulsive buying behavior. This suggests that marketing managers examine the characteristics of customers who have an impulsive buying tendency to become promotional targets because this will encourage buying behavior.

Keywords

• covid-19 information
• information credibility
• positive sentiment
• negative sentiment
• impulsive buying tendency
• impulsive buying behavior.