Abstract
Crises show all the aspects that surround a society, demonstrating whether society is equal to the demands or not. The current COVID-19 pandemic is creating a challenge for all market agents, be they politicians, entrepreneurs, or individuals, where the difficulties are presented every day from different perspectives: social, economic, educational. Therefore, both companies and individuals are implementing numerous solidarity strategies to help society and combat the effects of the health crisis. The question contemplated in this research is if this is the beginning of a new social-business paradigm, in which the results do not take precedence over the social aspects around the business market. And it is in this framework where this research focuses on studying this paradigm shift, analysing the future impact that these solidarity measures of companies will have on society, and therefore on consumer behaviour.
TopConceptual Framework
The behavior of consumers in the market is characterized by being an element of great relevance in the correct development of the market, as demonstrated in the literature (e.g., Nexhmi et al., 2003; Ribbink et al., 2004; Parasuraman et al., 2005; Collier & Bienstock, 2006; Flavián et al., 2006). This growing interest is motivated by being identified as an essential factor in the economic development of companies operating within the market (Smith, 2002; Harris & Goode, 2004).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Resilience: Resilience is the human ability to recover from stress. It is not the avoidance of adversity but the capability to cope with disasters and rebuild their own lives through a meaningful interpretation of events. It is an attitude so that it can be learned and improved over time.
Pandemic: A pandemic is a health crisis resulting in social and economic instability, which means that all market players have to make the necessary adjustments to adjust such complicated conditions to ensure their future survival.
Market Development: Market development is the necessary strategies to condition all the variables affecting the market, allowing companies to offer their products to consumers under optimum conditions.
Intention Conduct: Intention conduct is an attitude towards it precedes every planned behavior. When a consumer does good evaluations of a company, the likelihood of initiating or maintaining a relationship with it increases. In the end, brand loyalty allows consumers to save energy and time in decision-making purchase behavior.
Trust: Trust, in a market context, is the confidence between actors in that the other part will hold its part of the agreement.
Perception: Consumers' perception is how consumers conceive the market, the actors involved, and the products they offer. For this reason, the company needs to ensure that consumers perceive all the solidarity strategies they carry out so that they associate these measures with their products. Thus, consumers will feel more inclined to consume their products.
Social-Business Paradigm: Social-business paradigm is the forced changes that businesses and enterprises have to make in the traditional social and economic system resulting from a situation that cannot be changed.
Satisfaction: Consumers' satisfaction results from the comparison between results and expectations. When results are higher than expectations, the subjective feeling towards the interaction is more positive, leading to a better consideration of the other part (a brand, a company, a person) in future encounters.
Self-Regulated Systems: Self-regulated systems are dynamic relations among elements that adapt to changes in the environment. Like resilience, self-regulation is an adaptative characteristic of a system (being it a person, a society, a market, or the international trade).