What Motivates American Consumers to Choose Domestic Over Foreign Products: An Explanation Based on Helping Behavior

Abstract

The success of imported products in the United States has brought the loss of jobs for many American workers. Consequently, labor unions and other groups have urged American consumers to “Buy American.” In essence, purchase of domestic products for the purpose of supporting American industry and its workers is a form of helping behavior. This study uses nine constructs taken from the behavioral literature involving helping behavior to provide an explanation for consumers’ Willingness to Help threatened American workers: Salience, Social Concern, Deservingness, Group Identity, Perceived Equity, Similarity, Empathy, Responsibility, and Benefits. A quota sample of consumers provided the survey data. Each construct was measured by multi-item scales using a 6-point LIkert format. The first analysis regressed Willingness to Help on the nine helping constructs. The second analysis initially formed five clusters on the basis of the six Willingness to Help items, and then used the nine helping constructs in a descriptive discriminant analysis.