Do Consumers Respond to Social Movements? Evidence from Gender-Stereotypical Purchases After #MeToo

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bellet, Clement S.; Dubois, David; Godart, Frederic
• 署名单位: Erasmus University Rotterdam - Excl Erasmus MC; Erasmus University Rotterdam; INSEAD Business School
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.02352
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: social movements; consumption; gender stereotypes; Natural experiments; online retail; fashion

摘要

This paper explores whether and how consumers respond to global social movements challenging systemic discrimination and stereotypes. We examine the impact of the #MeToo movement on the market for products with stereotypical markers of femininity. Our analysis of high-frequency stockout and price data from a leading global fashion retailer spans from January 2017 to December 2018 and covers 32 countries, or 89% of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) population. Using a triple-difference approach across time, countries, and products, we identify changes in product-level stockouts, corresponding to a drop in the purchase of stereotypically feminine items. Our findings suggest a sudden shift in demand, with no immediate adjustments in product assortments or pricing. We discuss potential driving mechanisms, as well as implications for product management and marketing in marketplaces where segmentation is gender based.