Mercados y Negocios

Understanding Panic Buying During COVID-19: How Fear and Perceived Socioeconomic Consequences Shape Consumer Behavior

2026-07-02T18:11:49-06:00

This study examines the psychological and socioeconomic mechanisms underlying panic buying behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from 300 Istanbul residents were collected through an online survey and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results show that fear of COVID-19 significantly increased perceived socioeconomic consequences and panic buying, while socioeconomic consequences emerged as the strongest predictor of panic buying and partially mediated the relationship between fear and this behavior. In contrast, compulsive checking and anti-vaccine attitudes showed no significant effects on panic buying. The model explained 53.9% of the variance in panic buying. The findings suggest that panic buying is not merely an emotional reaction to fear but a cognitively mediated response to anticipated scarcity and economic uncertainty. This perspective extends the understanding of crisis consumer behavior beyond pandemic settings to contexts such as inflation, supply chain disruptions, and other situations involving economic threat and supply uncertainty. The study highlights the importance of transparent supply-chain communication and economic reassurance strategies for governments and retailers during crises.

Technological Adoption and Structural Transformation in Mexican Family-Owned High-Frequency Retail Stores

2026-05-04T19:57:44-06:00

This study analyses how technological adoption contributes to the structural transformation of family-owned High-Frequency Retail Stores in Mexico. The study used a quantitative survey administered to 126 High-Frequency Stores in the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study shows that these stores operate at an equilibrium between tradition and modernization, where technology does not replace the family model but transforms it. The lower level of digital literacy, compared with the high perception of business performance, confirms that their current strength remains rooted in social relationships, informal governance, and close customer interaction, while technological adoption represents the next stage in their structural evolution. Thus, the title connects directly with the central finding: High-Frequency Stores are transitioning from a purely relational model to a hybrid one, in which family businesses progressively integrate digital capabilities without losing their community essence, redefining the future of Mexican retail through resilience, social inclusion, and gradual innovation.

Capital Structure under Systemic Shocks: How COVID-19 Reshaped SME Financing

2026-08-18T14:55:55-06:00

This study examines how the COVID-19 crisis reshaped the determinants of capital structure among Portuguese industrial small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using firm-level and macroeconomic data from 7,006 SMEs over 2016–2023, we estimated a fixed-effects panel model with robust standard errors. Before the pandemic, profitability, liquidity, and maturity were negatively associated with leverage, whereas size and asset tangibility increased debt financing, broadly supporting Pecking Order Theory. The findings show that the pandemic reshaped the determinants of SME financing rather than aggregate debt levels, revealing an adaptive response to systemic uncertainty. The study extends capital structure research in bank-based economies and provides implications for financial and regulatory policies supporting SMEs during systemic crises.

Customer Satisfaction and Financial Inclusion: The Role of Service Quality in Non-Banking Correspondents

2026-08-12T10:34:48-06:00

This research analyzes the relationship between customer satisfaction with non-banking correspondent services and financial inclusion. For this study, the SERVQUAL model was used to measure customer satisfaction, and its relationship with financial inclusion was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) based on a stratified sample of 221 users of 24 non-banking correspondents. The results show that customer satisfaction is associated with financial inclusion through the quality of the physical and personal environments, which predominated as the most significant factor, and that all constructs clearly explain the latent variables. Furthermore, it became clear that inclusion is driven not only by financial infrastructure but also by a behavioral process of user perception, measured by satisfaction. Therefore, it is necessary to develop an ecosystem of experiences that ensures staff quality, environment, functional quality, access, product adaptation, and consumer protection, among other aspects that holistically integrate this ecosystem. This will provide a strategic framework for designing inclusive financial policies.

From Employment to Entrepreneurship: Career Adaptation, Entrepreneurial Identity, and the Theory of Adaptive Career Shift

2026-05-19T16:17:05-06:00

The study explores the lived experiences of individuals who transitioned from employment to entrepreneurship in Southern Leyte, Philippines, and generates a theory rooted in the participants’ narratives. To achieve this, the study combined two qualitative approaches: descriptive phenomenology as a methodological perspective and grounded theory as the data analysis technique. Through in-depth interviews with ten entrepreneurs across diverse sectors, four major themes emerged: Disruption Igniting New Path, Strategic Journey of Subtle Transition, Embracing Self-Direction and Control, and Harmony with Values and Inner Purpose. Findings reveal that while external crises, such as job loss and pandemic-related disruptions, acted as initial triggers, internal motivations, including autonomy, personal values, and purpose, significantly influenced participants’ decisions. The research concluded with the Theory of Adaptive Career Shift, in which entrepreneurial transition is a dynamic process shaped by external disruptions and internal desires, resulting in personal and professional reinvention. This research contributes a human-centered perspective to career development literature, emphasizing entrepreneurship as both a practical and existential path to self-actualization.