Social Capital and Its Psychological Consequences on Consumer Resilience–A Mediated Moderation Model

Abstract

Adverse events such as disasters, pandemics, and other environmental threats can create perceived uncertainty about potential impacts and outcomes, exacerbating feelings of anxiety and vulnerability for some consumers. Drawing on social capital theory and the health belief model, the central question this research addresses is how do consumers build resilience in the face of perceived uncertainty and psychological vulnerability? We argue that their social capital pre-crisis can provide the foundations for coping and strengthening consumer resilience in the face of perceived uncertainty and psychological vulnerability. Using data from 809 consumers in Australia and New Zealand during the COVID-19 pandemic, we found that pre-crisis social capital played a key role in building consumer resilience. However, perceived uncertainty and psychological vulnerability did not mediate and partially mediated, respectively, the relationship between pre-crisis social capital and consumer resilience. COVID-19 preparedness only positively moderated the effect of consumers' psychological vulnerability on their resilience. Implications for policy makers are discussed.