| The purpose of these studies is two-fold. First, over twenty years has elapsed since the last study of American Jewish Consumers (Hirschman 1981). After two decades, these studies were undertaken not necessarily to validate what has already been written, but to expand the realm of knowledge in regards to a growing ethnic group in the United States. Second, these studies explore the role of Equity Theory, combined with acculturation and past history of ethnic conflict in the consumer purchase decision. There has been very little in the Marketing literature that explores these constructs either together or separately.; Studies One and Three hypothesized that American Jewish Consumers would look differently at both leisure travel to Germany and in regards to purchasing automobiles produced by German companies. Acculturation and closeness to World War II, specifically the Holocaust, were tested as possible moderating variables.; Study Two examined specific acculturation dimensions of Jews living in the United States and whether or not American Jews as a specific ethnic group were more or less apt to rely on Word of Mouth, and were more or less Brand Loyal than American Non-Jews for making an automobile purchase decision. Of interest was whether or not level of acculturation played a role in the purchase decision.; Results showed that American Jewish Consumers view the decision to both purchase German automobiles and travel to Germany differently from Non-Jewish Americans living in the United States. This finding is very much in line with the small, but expanding line of consumer animosity studies found in recent Marketing literature.; Additionally, results show that while there is no significant difference between American Jewish Consumers and Non-Jewish American Consumers in the use of Word of Mouth and Brand Loyalty, the study does yield results that suggest there is a difference along these two dimensions of purchase behavior among American Jewish Consumers based on level of acculturation. |
