Restoring consumers’ institutional trust in an industry-‐wide crisis: A perspective of consumers’ perceived legitimacy

Food product-harm crises frequently happen in China and rise to an industry-wide level. So far, research about product-harm crises mostly focuses on an individual company scandal, while there is still limited discussion about industry-wide crises. Industry-wide crises involve different levels of institutions and authorities. Restoring consumers’ institutional trust is essential for repairing their brand trust and trust toward the industry after an industry-wide crisis. The current study will adopt qualitative research methods to explore the institutions related to an industry-wide crisis and perceived legitimacy which plays a vital role in institutional trust. This research has the potential to make contributions to institutional theories, the concept of legitimacy in marketing and consumer psychology, and provide implications for crisis management.