The effect of uncertainty tolerance on compulsory purchase behavior and the regulatory role of COVID-19 fear

The world order, which is changing day by day, has put the system in an irresistible wheel and these events, which have devastating consequences, have caused a great change in the lives of societies and individuals. One of them, the Covid-19 pandemic, has created an intolerable state of anxiety, anxiety and fear in individuals in terms of not knowing the disease. Some individuals tend to turn to mechanisms such as compulsive buying behavior to cope with these traumatic processes. Although adapting to this mechanism in moments of high uncertainty, such as the Covid-19 pandemic process, provides psychological relief to the individual for a short time, it can create devastating and irreversible results in the long run. The attitudes of individuals during the pandemic are tried to be analyzed from the perspective of marketing and psychology. In this study, it was aimed to determine the effect of intolerance of uncertainty on compulsive buying behavior and whether the fear of Covid-19 has a regulatory role. In this study, analysis was carried out in line with the data obtained from consumers over the age of 18 throughout Turkey. The obtained data were analyzed by establishing the Structural Equation Model (SEM). As a result of the analyzes made, it was seen that forward-looking anxiety, which is the first dimension of intolerance to uncertainty, has a positive effect on compulsive buying behavior. It has been observed that inhibitory anxiety, which is another dimension of intolerance of uncertainty, has a positive effect on compulsive buying behavior. In addition, it has been determined that fear of Covid-19 has a regulative role in the effect of prospective anxiety on compulsive buying behavior. It has been determined that fear of Covid-19 does not have a regulatory role in the effect of inhibitory anxiety on compulsive buying behavior. Keywords: Intolerance of uncertainty, consumer behavior, compulsive buying behavior, fear of Covid-19