Crafting Entrepreneurial Pet Brands: Unravelling the Influence of Media Exposure on COVID-19 Anxiety through the Lens of Pet Attachment

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the impact of media exposure regarding COVID-19 on anxiety with the mediating role of risk perception and the moderating role of pet attachment. The target population of the study is pet owners in major cities of Pakistan. The results concluded that media exposure has a significant and positive impact on risk perception, and risk perception has a significant and positive impact on anxiety. Furthermore, pet attachment plays a moderating role between media exposure and risk perception, and there is a partial mediation effect of risk perception between media exposure and anxiety. The study suggests that pet attachment must be considered as a solution to reduce risk perception caused by media exposure to COVID-19. The effect of media exposure regarding COVID-19 on anxiety has not been widely studied in Pakistan, nor has the mediating role of risk perception and the moderating role of pet attachment; therefore, this study is a contribution towards filling this gap. The goal of the study is to find out how business owners in the pet sector strategically mold their brands and deal with the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 environment. It also explores how media exposure affects people's anxiety levels throughout the epidemic, with a focus on how people's attachment to their pets mediates this effect. When examining and interpreting the emotional and psychological components of people's reactions to COVID-19-related media messages in the context of their relationships with their pets, the lens of pet attachment offers a distinctive viewpoint. For future studies, the impact of media exposure on anxiety may be examined across various cities in Pakistan, with larger sample sizes. Managerial implications are discussed.