The impact of legitimacy types on customer loyalty and the moderating role of the perceived COVID-19 threat: cross-country comparison between Japan and Croatia

ABSTRACT

By applying institutional theory in retail and COVID-19 settings, this paper investigates the impact of legitimacy dimensions on customer loyalty, considering the moderating effect of the perceived COVID-19 threat. The data collected by a consumer survey in Japan and Croatia were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling. The results from both samples reveal that moral and cognitive legitimacy are critical loyalty drivers. The perceived COVID-19 threat moderated the relationship between cognitive legitimacy and loyalty. The study also reveals some differences between the countries. The impact of pragmatic legitimacy is significant only in Croatia, while perceived threat negatively moderates the relationship between moral legitimacy and loyalty only in Japan. The study provides recommendations for managers on how to gain loyalty through actions supporting legitimacy.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19 pandemic
• grocery retailing
• legitimacy dimensions
• perceived threat
• loyalty
• cross-country analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was partially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI [Grant Numbers 20K01989]. This work was also made as part of the project “Determinants of Strengthening Technological Capabilities of Different Sectors” at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb and co-funded within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan 2021-2026 – NextGenerationEU.

Notes on contributors

Ivan-Damir Anić

Ivan-Damir Anić, Ph.D., is a senior research fellow at the Institute of Economics, Zagreb, Croatia. His main research interests include retailing, e-commerce, and consumer behaviour. He has published numerous papers in international journals, including Small Business Economics, Technovation, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, and the Journal of Consumer Affairs.

Ivana Kursan Milaković

Ivana Kursan Milaković, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Marketing (Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism - University of Split, Croatia). She has published in several international journals, such as the International Journal of Advertising, Business Ethics, the Environment & Responsibility, Electronic Commerce Research and Applications, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management, and the International Journal of Consumer Studies.

Mitsunori Hirogaki

Mitsunori Hirogaki, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Marketing Strategy at Kyushu University, Graduate School of Economics, Japan. He has published numerous papers in international journals such as the International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, and the International Journal of Business and Globalisation.