Consumer Ethicality Perception and Legitimacy: Competitive Advantages in COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

The article aims to analyze the cause–effect relationship between Brand Ethicality Perception (CPE), legitimacy and purchase intention during the COVID-19 first wave, taking into consideration the mediation effect of the country of residence. Data collection was based on a survey launched during the COVID-19 lockdown in Madrid and New York. To analyze the established hypotheses and to test the multigroup analysis, we applied a structural modelling with SmartPLS. The research contributes to the field of brand management, and specifically of ethical branding, since it will analyze how stakeholders’ expectations fulfillment is key to build a consistent and valued brand meaning in crisis’ situations, demonstrating that ethical behaviors are key for gaining corporate legitimacy and, therefore, for improving business performances.

Underlying Factors of Tourist Social Responsibility (TSR) within the COVID-19 Context: An Empirical Investigation of the Saudi Tourism Market

“…Edelman [7] argued that COVID-19 influenced consumers to be more conscious and support businesses that respond appropriately to the pandemic. This is supported by Payne et al [8], who found the demand for ethical brands is increasing among consumers, and firms are expected to act ethically. In the case of travel and tourism, COVID-19 has changed travel behavior.…”

Investigating the predicting role of COVID-19 preventive measures on building brand legitimacy in the hospitality industry in Tanzania: mediation effect of perceived brand ethicality

“…Empirical studies show that the growing interest among scholars in examining how customers grant legitimacy to business firms and their brands is due to the business climate, which includes characteristics such as cynicism, boycotts, ethical purchase, and ethical consumption [ 30 , 55 ]. Recent studies have revealed the need to examine how customers can grant legitimacy to business organizations during pandemic situations such as COVID-19 [ 22 , 47 ]. It is widely accepted that business organizations could demonstrate their accountability and responsibility for social welfare or well-being during pandemics to build social acceptance [ 4 , 8 , 15 ].…”

“…Through negotiations, marketers must align marketing efforts with social norms, and cultural issues to ensure customers ascribe meaningful meaning to the brands [ 28 ]. When looking at pandemics like COVID-19 in the hospitality industry, researchers have found that becoming more credible can help offset the negative effects of COVID-19, like a big drop in the number of customers [ 47 ]. Understanding customer legitimacy has thus proven useful for hospitality organizations seeking to build trust during and after the COVID-19 pandemic [ 67 ].…”

“…[ 28 ] suggests that brand legitimacy as value co-creation practices can prevent customers from engaging in undesirable behavior, such as purchasing and consuming unethical or illicit goods. Literature on brand legitimacy indicates that customers perceive unethical or illicit goods as neither socially responsible nor socially accountable [ 47 ]. Therefore, this present study seeks to examine the significant role of customers in granting legitimacy in the hospitality industry.…”

“…Third, pragmatic brand legitimacy involves disposition dimensions reflecting constituents' support since business organizations and constituents share values. Constituents grant legitimacy if they believe a business organization is looking out for their best interests [ 47 ]. Thus, pragmatic brand legitimacy covers whether consumption of a particular product is considered favorable for a person’s image in a given social setting and whether the ethical standards maintained by the reference group are similar to their own.…”