Navigating economic crises in central and Eastern Europe : consumer coping strategies and resilience

Dziewanowska, Katarzyna (author), Kacprzak, Agnieszka (author), Pfajfar, Gregor (author), Kéri, Anita (author)

Purpose – This study examines the impact of economic crises on consumer behaviour, focusing on coping strategies and consumer resilience theories. Specifically, it explores consumer responses to economic challenges stemming from the Ukraine conflict and the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland, Hungary and Slovenia. Design/methodology/approach – The research utilized an online survey of 1,544 respondents representative of age, gender, education and residence. A k-means cluster analysis identified three distinct consumer segments based on adaptive behaviours, demographics and psychographics. To strengthen construct validity across cultures, the study incorporated back-translation and cross-national scale reliability testing prior to segmentation analysis. Findings – Three consumer unique segments demonstrating emerged: resilient shoppers with stable consumption habits, balanced financial approaches; crisis adapters exhibiting high price consciousness, significant shifts in consumption and ethical balancers who emphasized ethical consumption despite economic constraints. Practical implications – The findings guide policymakers and businesses in crafting strategies to mitigate the impact of economic crises. Policymakers can focus on essential industries like food production and distribution. Businesses should adapt marketing strategies to increased price sensitivity by emphasizing affordability and sustainable options. Social implications – The study underscores the role of resilience and ethical consumption in mitigating social impacts of economic crises. By understanding consumer behaviour, institutions can foster community resilience and promote inclusive policies that address diverse consumer needs. Originality/value – The study enhances coping and resilience theories by linking demographic and psychographic factors to coping strategies during crises. It highlights ethical consumption and provides cross- country insights into consumer behaviour. Unlike prior resilience research, this study conceptualizes ethical consumption both as a coping tactic and a marker of value-driven consumer identity.

• Language: English
• Keywords: marketing, monetary crisis, consumer behaviour, resilience, consumer coping strategies, economic crisis, consumer segments, resilience theory, cluster analysis
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: EF - School of Economics and Business
• Publication status: In print
• Publication version: Author Accepted Manuscript
• Year: 2025
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-181644
• UDC: 339.138
• ISSN on article: 1746-8809
• DOI: 10.1108/IJOEM-12-2024-2246
• COBISS.SI-ID: 250980355
• Publication date in RUL: 10.04.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: International journal of emerging markets
• Publisher: Emerald
• ISSN: 1746-8809
• COBISS.SI-ID: 24824157

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
• Description: A creative commons license that bans commercial use, but the users don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: trženje, denarna kriza, vedenje potrošnikov, odpornost

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: P5-0177
• Name: Slovenija in njeni akterji v mednarodnih odnosih in evropskih integracijah

• Funder: Other - Other funder or multiple funders
• Project number: IDUB IV.3.1. dec.no.BOB-661-550/2023
• Name: IDUB IV.3.1. dec.no.BOB-661-550/2023