1. Introduction
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has reported that one-third of the world’s food is wasted [
1]. The situation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is even worse as KSA is among the top food-wasting countries in the world [
2]. Surprisingly, food encompasses up to 50% of the overall waste in KSA, even more than paper, plastics, and other types of waste [
3]. The international average of food waste per capita is 114 kg per year; however, this average is more than doubled in KSA to be 250 kg [
4]. This food waste costs the KSA government 40 billion SR (Saudi Riyal) annually (about USD 11 billion) [
5]. This is a challenge to the Saudi Vision 2030, food security, and sustainability in KSA [
6]. This is especially true since KSA is not an ideal place for agricultural development due to limited arable land, tough weather, low rainfall, and water scarcity for agriculture [
7]. Hence, KSA depends comprehensively on food imports to meet the needs of its people. Notwithstanding this, food waste in KSA is a major challenge [
6]. Several causes were identified for this high rate of food waste in KSA, namely, economic prosperity, social events, and food consumption culture [
6]. A recent study, amid the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, showed that excessive food-buying behavior is the major predictor of food waste in KSA [
8]. The same study [
8] also confirmed that excessive food buying is a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumers were worried about virus transmission; hence, they engaged in excessive buying to limit their number of visits to food stores.
COVID-19 has affected the psychological and psychosocial state of humans around the world [
9]. The severity of COVID-19 has increased fear and anxiety among communities worldwide, which pushed them to self-isolation [
10]. Hence, this has encouraged consumers to practice excessive/unusual and/or panic buying behavior [
10,
11,
12]. Recent research studies (see for instance, [
8,
12]) have shown that consumers in KSA, like many others around the world, engaged in excessive buying behavior, especially for essential items such as food and drink [
12]. Despite the government of KSA trying its best to ensure the health, safety of its people, and availability of food stock, this was not enough to make Saudis desist from this excessive buying, which was increased amid the pandemic [
12]. Nonetheless, this excessive buying behavior is an unhealthy practice and has a negative impact on individuals. Such behavior negatively affects the economy by increasing the prices since the shops might run out of stock [
13]. It could lead to high food loss and waste [
8]. Additionally, it becomes a threat to food security and sustainability in KSA [
6].
Recent studies [
8,
12] on excessive buying behavior, especially in KSA, have shown that this behavior is not always a response to, or due to the impacts of, crises or pandemics; however, it is part of community cultures with economic prosperity. The study of Sobaih and Moustafa [
12] showed that the COVID-19 pandemic has created unusual buying behavior among Saudis due to perceived severity, anxiety, and self-isolation. In other words, Saudis engaged in panic buying responding to the threat to their health because of the pandemic. Additionally, the study of Azazz and Elshaer [
8] confirmed this assumption and found that social media has increased the effect of excessive food buying among Saudis during the pandemic, whereas religiosity has a negative association with this behavior. On the other hand, Baig et al. [
6] found that this excessive behavior, which led to high food waste, is part of the Saudi culture supplemented with economic prosperity. Other studies, e.g., [
14], showed that the excessive buying behavior could be a result of pleasure seeking. This confirms that excessive buying behavior is not always a natural response to crises, albeit it could be a result of various reasons as highlighted above.
The growing body of academic studies on excessive, panic, compulsive, or stockpiling buying behavior of essential needs, i.e., food and drinks, amid COVID-19 (see, for instance, [
10,
11,
12]) has focused mainly on the direct impact of COVID-19 (e.g., perceived severity, anxiety, or self-isolation intention) on the spread of this behavior among consumers worldwide. Such research studies have highlighted the role of both academics and policymakers in managing such behavior to ensure food security and sustainability. On the other hand, there are limited studies, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, which examine the impact of COVID-19 along with other factors such as consumption culture and religiosity, which were examined separately pre-COVID-19 [
15]. The current study takes a novel attempt to examine the effect of COVID-19 alongside other factors, i.e., religiosity and consumption culture, on excessive food-buying behavior among consumers in KSA.
The study builds on both the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) [
16] and the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) [
17]. The study draws on TPB to understand why consumers in KSA engage in excessive food-buying behavior amid COVID-19. The study adopts the TPB framework to understand the role of attitude toward behavior, as a major antecedent of excessive food-buying intention [
18]. Attitudes toward behavior refers to a person’s positive or negative assessment of self-performance in relation to certain behaviors, which is excessive food buying in the current research. This study examines the role of attitude in the link between the perceived severity of COVID-19, food consumption culture, and religiosity and excessive food-buying intention. In addition, the PMT was adopted to explain how consumers respond with “coping appraisal” to the severity of COVID-19 “threat appraisal”. This study argues that consumers respond to the severity and threat of COVID-19 by their positive attitude and intention toward excessive food-buying behavior. The purpose of the current study is to test the direct effects of religiosity, food consumption culture, and perceived severity of COVID-19 on consumers’ excessive food-buying intention as well as the indirect effects via the consumers’ attitudes toward behavior. Understanding these relationships enables a better understanding of excessive buying behavior among consumers in KSA, which contributes to better management of food loss and waste that have become a threat to food security in KSA.
After the introduction of this study, the next section of this manuscript develops the hypotheses of the study including the direct relationship between the perceived severity of COVID-19, religiosity, and food consumption culture and excessive food-buying intention. It also reviews the indirect relationships through attitudes toward behavior.
Section 2 also presents the theoretical model of the study. Following this,
Section 3 shows the adopted methodology in the current study. This includes the instrument adopted, the study population and sample, procedures of data collection, and data analysis methods.
Section 4 presents the results of the study (whether direct or indirect relationships) and the research structural model.
Section 5 shows a discussion of the study’s results.
Section 6 presents the implications of the study for academics as well as policymakers, especially in KSA.
Section 7 concludes the study and highlights its major limitations.
5. Discussion
The current study is a response to the excessive food buying among consumers in KSA, which has become the norm amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study draws on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) [
16] and the Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) [
17] to examine why consumers in KSA engage in excessive food-buying behavior amid COVID-19. The TPB framework was adopted to assess the role of attitude toward behavior, as a major antecedent of excessive food-buying intention. More specifically, the study examines the role of attitude in the link between the perceived severity of COVID-19, food consumption culture, and religiosity and excessive food-buying intention. Moreover, the study adopted the PMT to understand consumers’ coping mechanisms for the health threat of COVID-19.
The results of SmartPLS4 showed that the effect of food consumption culture on attitude toward excessive food-buying intention is positive and significant. This supports the assumption that Saudi culture serves plentiful food, even more than can be eaten, to express their hospitality [
15,
23,
24]; this was clearly translated into their attitude toward excessive buying. Baig et al. [
7] supported this notion that the food consumption culture of Saudis significantly influences their attitude toward excessive food buying. This is because they have a good income and they have a high level of hospitality and generosity that increases their tendency and desire to buy food in bulk. However, the direct effect of food consumption culture on excessive food-buying intention was not significant. This could be because consumers during the pandemic are self-isolated and there were no social meetings due to the health threat. Thus, the food consumption culture among Saudis during the pandemic failed to promote excessive food-buying intention.
On the other hand, the effect of the perceived severity of COVID-19 was positive and significant on both attitude toward excessive food buying and excessive food-buying intention. This finding is in line with the PMT framework [
17], whereby consumers in KSA, like in many other countries around the world, tried to cope with the perceived severity of COVID-19 through their positive attitude and intention of excessive food buying. The results of the current research support previous studies that people engage in unusual or panic buying as a coping appraisal to the threat perceived because of the COVID-19 pandemic [
10,
12]. Amid COVID-19, consumers in KSA were found to have a positive attitude and intention of excessive food buying due to their perception of COVID-19’s severity as being life-threatening. Their worries and uncertainty about the pandemic enhanced this intention of excessive food buying [
10,
11,
12]. Our research confirms the results of recent research [
54,
55] on the influence of COVID-19 on increasing food loss and waste behavior among consumers in various countries. However, recent research [
56,
57] has argued that this time of pandemic is an opportunity to raise awareness among consumers about food loss and waste.
One of the unexpected results was the effect of religiosity on attitude toward excessive food buying and excessive food-buying intention, which was found to be positive and significant. Unlike the results of previous studies about the negative effect of religiosity on excessive buying amid COVID-19 [
8], the current study showed a positive influence on both attitude and intention of excessive food buying. These positive attitudes and intentions among respondents confirm a misunderstanding of the Islamic religion (since all Saudis are classified as Muslims). The Islamic religion clearly prohibits excessive food consumption, as stated in the Quran (the Holy book of Muslims) and Hadith (the messages of Messenger Prophet Mohammed). However, they misinterpret part of the texts. For example, “
And they give food in spite of love for it to the needy, the orphan, and the captive” (Verse 8, Al-Insān) and “
Then he went to his family and came with a fat [roasted] calf” (Verse 26, Adh-Dhāriyāt). These verses in the Quran quoted by the respondents in
Section 7 of the questionnaire are just some examples that confirm a misunderstanding of some Islamic principles. Some respondents used these verses to argue that their Islamic religion confirms hospitality. However, these verses have a specific context and cannot be considered as a justification for excessive food consumption. Certainly, Islam does respect hospitality but, at the same time, confirms no excessive or food waste, as it is mentioned in the Quran that “
…. and eat and drink, but be not excessive. Indeed, He likes not those who commit excess” (Verse 8, Al-A‘rāf).
The results of the current research support the TBP framework that attitude toward behavior is an antecedent of behavioral intention [
38,
39]. Hence, the results confirmed a positive and significant effect of attitude toward excessive food buying on excessive food-buying intention. This finding is in agreement with previous research [
15] that the Saudi consumer’s attitude toward food waste was a predictor of food waste intention. Additionally, the results showed that attitude toward excessive food buying mediates the relationship between food consumption culture, perceived severity of COVID-19, religiosity, and excessive food-buying intention. Despite the results confirming no significant direct effect of food consumption culture on excessive food-buying intention, attitudes toward excessive buying mediated this relationship. Hence, the indirect effect was confirmed through attitude toward excessive buying.
6. Implications of the Study
The above results have several implications for academics. First, the results confirmed that excessive food buying amid COVID-19 is not just a direct response or a coping behavior to the health threat of the pandemic as PMT suggested, as other factors led to this behavior, such as food consumption culture and religiosity, whether directly or indirectly. It is important to note that Saudis engaged in excessive food buying in response to the health threat coming from the quick transmission of the virus. Despite the efforts of the Saudi government to provide free vaccinations, ensure social distancing, and provide different forms of support to the community [
10], these efforts did not stop Saudis from engaging in excessive food buying. Second, the results extend the TBP framework that there are other antecedents of behavioral intention. The study showed that food consumption culture, perceived severity, and religiosity are all antecedents of excessive food-buying intention, directly or indirectly. Third, the study confirmed, for the first time, the mediating effect of attitude toward behavior on the relationship between food consumption culture, perceived severity, and religiosity and excessive food-buying intention. Attitude toward behavior was able to change the direct effect of food consumption culture on excessive food-buying intention, from insignificant to significant, through consumers’ personal attitudes. Hence, the current research contributed to both PMT and TPB frameworks.
The results also have several implications for decision makers. First, media campaigns are urgently needed to explain the correct Islamic principles about excessive food and the negative consequences of engaging in such behavior from an Islamic perspective. It is important that the different media campaigns consider the reduction in worries and stress of the community regarding the threat of the pandemic/crises in order to reduce their excessive food-buying behavior, which is often a result of this threat. Second, the role of social media cannot be underestimated since it encourages this excessive behavior [
8]. However, it has been used as a powerful tool for sending important messages about public health, as well as the assurance of the value of food saving and food security and sustainability. Third, Muslim leaders can play an important role in this by showing a negative attitude toward excessive food through different media channels. Fourth, managing this excessive food-buying behavior will contribute to food security and the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially goals number 1 and 2, relating to no poverty and zero hunger, respectively.
7. Conclusions
The current study is an attempt to understand why the Saudi consumer engages in excessive food buying, especially amid COVID-19. The results showed that the perceived severity of COVID-19 has a direct significant positive effect on attitudes toward excessive food buying and excessive food-buying intention. Food consumption culture was found to have no direct significant effect on excessive food-buying intention, albeit it has a direct effect on attitudes toward excessive food buying. It was surprising that religiosity has a positive effect on both consumers’ attitudes and excessive food-buying intention. This implies a misunderstanding of Islamic principles, which led to the positive effect of religiosity on attitudes toward excessive food buying. Additionally, attitude toward excessive food buying mediates the relationship between food consumption culture, perceived severity of COVID-19, religiosity, and excessive food-buying intention. This means that attitudes toward excessive food buying have the ability to change the direct relationships, which was the case for the effect of food consumption culture on excessive food-buying intention.
The study adopted an online survey due to the effect of COVID-19; hence, respondents may not be representative of the Saudi population. Additionally, the study did not examine the effect of respondents’ demographics, e.g., gender, age, and education, on the study results, which could be an opportunity for further research. One of the important variables that could be examined in future studies is the moderating effect of respondents’ income on the examined relationships in the current study. It will be interesting to examine the role of economic prosperity on excessive food-buying behavior.