Abstract
As tariffs rapidly emerge as a prominent yet potentially divisive topic in management education, there is a notable lack of literature assessing student views of tariffs, including antecedents and outcomes. This gap leaves management faculty under-equipped to help students critically process global trade dynamics, including trade conflicts. To fill this gap, we apply Social Identity Theory to compare U.S. business student and consumer survey data, evaluating the role of consumer ethnocentrism (CE) in shaping support for tariffs on the largest U.S. trading partners in Canada, Mexico, and China. Overall, CE levels are modest for both students and consumers, though statistically higher for consumers. Structural equation modeling (SEM) reveals that higher CE broadly correlates with stronger support for tariffs regardless of the trading partner. Nevertheless, tariff support is not correlated with willingness to pay for these tariffs. This disconnect signals a possible fundamental misunderstanding of tariffs as well as the larger concept of global trade. To bridge this gap, we describe a simple, effective, and flexible class exercise (“American Cars”) to pique students’ interest in the complexity of global supply chains, including tariffs and misconceptions about supposed “domestic” versus “foreign” goods.
•While tariffs are prominent and divisive, limited pedagogical literature exists.•Limited differences in tariff views between U.S. students and consumers were found.•Consumer ethnocentrism is linked to support for tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.•Support for tariffs is not linked to a willingness to pay more for foreign goods.•We present an exercise to help students process the complexity of global trade.