Can Value Congruity Influence Trust and Agreement with Controversial Decisions during Global Disruptions?

As the COVID-19 pandemic started to disrupt the global economy, organizations had to make controversial decisions under unprecedented uncertainty. Hence, mega sport event organizers had to decide whether their events should proceed. In this context, the present research investigates whether the International Olympic Committee was able to leverage its values and commitment to sustainable development by comparing the influence of three measures of value congruity (including two novel sustainability-based instruments) on brand trust and consumers' agreement with controversial COVID-19-related decisions. A PLS-SEM method was used to analyze data from five countries (n = 1241). Results reveal that the novel sustainability-based measures are at least as influential as the traditional measure, and that brand trust mediates the relationship. Moderations of risk perceptions and cultural differences are exhibited. These findings contribute to the literature by comparing sustainability-based and traditional measures in the context of global disruptions. Marketers are encouraged to use novel sustainability-based instruments.