Panic buying has been observed across many regions during the COVID-19 pandemic which greatly disrupts supply chains and market economies. The determinants of panic buying, upon being identified, can be applied to control the escalation of panic buying behaviour that is highly detrimental to societies. This research aims to synthesise the dual-system theory and stimulus-organism-response framework to investigate into the causes of panic buying. Structural equation modelling is employed to analyse data collected from 508 residents in Singapore. The results reveal that panic buying can be explained as a response to both environmental stimuli and reflective thinking. Specifically, perceived susceptibility and perceived severity of a pandemic event as well as social influence and social norm can stimulate consumers' perceptions of scarcity and affective response, which in turn leads to the impulsive decision of panic buying; meanwhile, a rational reflection which is operationalised by perceived lack of control also influences panic buying. Furthermore, the perceived lack of control positively moderates the effect of affective response on panic buying. Theoretically, this research provides a unique explanation of panic buying. The findings also provide managerial implications on dealing with panic buying in response to disasters such as a health crisis.

在 COVID-19 大流行期间，许多地区都出现了恐慌性购买，这极大地扰乱了供应链和市场经济。确定恐慌性购买的决定因素后，可用于控制对社会极为不利的恐慌性购买行为的升级。本研究旨在综合双系统理论和刺激-生物-反应框架来探究恐慌性购买的成因。采用结构方程模型来分析从新加坡 508 名居民收集的数据。结果表明，恐慌性购买可以解释为对环境刺激和反思性思维的反应。具体而言，大流行事件的感知易感性和感知严重性以及社会影响和社会规范可以刺激消费者 对稀缺性的感知和情感反应，进而导致恐慌性购买的冲动决定；同时，由于缺乏控制而产生的理性反思也会影响恐慌性购买。此外，感知到的缺乏控制积极地缓和了情感反应对恐慌性购买的影响。从理论上讲，这项研究为恐慌性购买提供了独特的解释。研究结果还为应对诸如健康危机等灾难的恐慌性购买提供了管理启示。从理论上讲，这项研究为恐慌性购买提供了独特的解释。研究结果还为应对诸如健康危机等灾难的恐慌性购买提供了管理启示。从理论上讲，这项研究为恐慌性购买提供了独特的解释。研究结果还为应对诸如健康危机等灾难的恐慌性购买提供了管理启示。