Pandemics and consumer well‐being: Provenance and research priorities

• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Author: Debasis Pradhan
• Date: 01 March 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/joca.12445

COMMENTARY

Pandemics and consumer well-being:

Provenance and research priorities

Debasis Pradhan

Xavier School of Business, XLRI,

Jamshedpur, India

Correspondence

Debasis Pradhan, Xavier School of

Business, XLRI, Circuit House Area

(East), Jamshedpur 831001, India.

Email: debasis@xlri.ac.in

Abstract

This article advances the riveting discussion on how

this special issue contributes to the consumer well-

being literature. Specifically, this article endeavors to

present an eclectic account of how the pandemics has

had a lasting impact on the consumer well-being, its

provenance and future research priorities for academics

and practice. First, it briefly discusses the origin and

relevance of the evolving issue of consumer well-being

during pandemics. Second, it presents several direc-

tions for future research and third, it offers key insights

for policymakers. It includes multiple research priori-

ties that present vastly contrasting manifestations of

consumer well-being. This article argues that future

research will need to examine the drivers of consumer

well-being during pandemics, the mechanisms that

underlie the influence of pandemics on consumer well-

being and the boundary conditions that accentuate/

mitigate the influence of pandemic-induced factors.

KEYWORDS

anti-consumption, consumer behavior, consumer vulnerability,

consumer well-being, future research agenda, pandemics,

research priorities

1|INTRODUCTION

The Journal of Consumer Affairs (JCA) announced a special issue on “Pandemics and Con-

sumer well-being”in the year 2020. This special issue invited papers on pandemics and the

Received: 16 February 2022 Accepted: 25 February 2022

DOI: 10.1111/joca.12445

© 2022 American Council on Consumer Interests.

28 J Consum Aff. 2022;56:28–33.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/joca