AMTP Proceedings 2026

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

Spring 2026

Abstract

Product shortages often evoke strong emotional reactions and subsequent behavioral responses that can amplify market disruptions. This research explores consumer behavior during two high-profile shortage events: the 2012 and 2020 U.S. ammunition shortage and the COVID-19 pandemic’s staple goods shortage. Using a comparative qualitative case study design, this research develops a psychologically grounded process model to explain how perceived scarcity can trigger emotional arousal, overreaction, and persistent marketplace behaviors. Drawing from reactance and self-determination theories, this research reveals how threats to autonomy, competence, and relatedness lead consumers to engage in coping tactics such as panic buying, hoarding, extended search, and opportunistic purchasing. These behaviors can unintentionally exacerbate shortages and prolong supply disruptions. Together, this research identifies pre-response conditions (sensitivity to restrictions and catalysts) that impact response behaviors (reactance, reactance multiplier conditions, and coping tactics) that together illustrate how consumer actions transform scarcity from a temporary disruption into a self-perpetuating phenomenon.

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