About AMA

Executive Summary
Shoham, Davidow, Klein, and Ruvio extend the concept of international animosity to domestic, ethnic-based animosity. They study its impact on purchases from an ethnic group to which another such group harbors animosity, a setting that exists in many countries. In the beginning of the second Arab Intifada (uprising), Israeli Arabs joined the Palestinians in violent demonstrations.

This research focuses on Jewish Israelis’ reactions in terms of their purchases and consumption of goods produced by Arab Israelis. It finds that dogmatism, nationalism, and internationalism affect animosity, which in turn predicts willingness to buy and changes in purchases for goods produced by Israeli Arabs. In contrast to previous research, animosity also predicted product judgments.

Given many within-country ethnic controversies, marketers should consider the implications of animosity on consumer purchases. Managers should assess within-country animosity levels to identify high animosity segments and alter marketing messages or managerial logistics decisions by emphasizing or de-emphasizing the origin of a product.

Because within-country animosity predicted product judgments, when marketing to high-animosity consumers, managers may want to separate the image of the product from its cultural underpinnings and emphasize attributes that are unrelated to the producers.

By focusing on internationalism, managers can reduce the impact of animosity through communications that promote an international viewpoint. In addition, communication strategies should account for cultural idiosyncrasies of the dominant cultures. Advertising campaigns could use rational arguments to enhance authority figures in messages in low-power-distance Israel. Traditional arguments should work better as authority-enhancing mechanisms in high-power-distance India.

Shoham, Davidow, Klein, and Ruvio’s findings can be useful to international marketing managers. First, because political changes can affect demand, managers should plan in advance for reacting to intergroup conflict. Second, consider a company entering a new market in which ethnic animosity is expected and choosing to establish a production, research, or distribution facility or using agents or distributors. Setting up facilities or channels in an area dominated by an ethnic group to which other customers feel animosity might lead to product quality denigration, lower willingness to buy, and lower purchases. In such situations, manager can forgo some or all of the sales to the animosity-bearing ethnic segment of the population, establish a multiowner joint venture (JV) such that both ethnic groups are represented, use the JV to supply the dominant ethnic segment where the JV is located and supply other ethnic segments from other sources, and use channels located in both parts of the market.

Biography
Aviv Shoham received his MBA from Oklahoma University (1984) and his PhD in Marketing from the University of Oregon (1993). His research focuses on international marketing, international consumer behavior, and international public-sector marketing strategy. In addition to Journal of International Marketing, he has recently published in Journal of International Consumer Marketing, International Public Management Review, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Marketing Intelligence and Planning, and Journal of Marketing Theory & Practice.

Moshe Davidow received his MBA from Tel Aviv University (1991) and his PhD in Marketing from Texas A&M University (1998). His main areas of interest are service recovery, new product development, and marketing. In addition to Journal of International Marketing, he has recently published in Journal of Service Research, Journal of Teaching in International Business, and Journal of Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction, and Complaining Behavior.

Jill G. Klein received her PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan (1990). Her teaching specialties are marketing management, consumer behavior, advertising/marketing communications, and marketing research. Her research interests are consumer boycotts, corporate social responsibility, and international marketing, including the effects of international hostility on consumer perceptions of foreign products. In addition to Journal of International Marketing, she has published in Journal of Marketing, Harvard Business Review, Management Science, Journal of International Business Studies, and British Medical Journal.

Ayalla Ruvio received her PhD in Educational Administration from the University of Haifa (2001). She is a faculty member in the Graduate School of Management at the University of Haifa, Israel. She is the head of the Executive MBA program for nonprofit managers. She specializes in individual differences in consumer behavior and nonprofit marketing. Her research interests include different aspects the concept of “possessions as extension of the self,” consumers’ need for uniqueness, social aspects of consumer behavior, and innovation in nonprofit organizations.