Harvard Business Review LogoJuly 2, 2026HBR Staff/AI; Aziz Shamuratov/Getty ImagesU.S. firms increasingly operate in a marketplace where “Made in USA” is no longer a neutral provenance claim but a charged political signal. A new study analyzing 5,355 companies overIn 2010, Mark Andol opened a retail shop in Elma, New York, with a strict rule: If a product wasn’t made in the United States, it didn’t go on the shelves. Even the hangers and packaging glue had to be American-made. For Andol, “Made in USA” meant more than a label; it was a moral imperative—a response to the factory closures and offshoring he believed had hollowed out his community. His store used slogans like “China is a long drive to work!” and “For Country, Soldier, American worker, and Our Children of Tomorrow.”
Research: Navigating the Business Risks of Changing Pro-America Sentiment
U.S. firms increasingly operate in a marketplace where “Made in USA” is no longer a neutral provenance claim but a charged political signal. A new study analyzing 5,355 companies over twenty years found that pro-America marketing has increasingly shifted from pride-based patriotism to grievance-fueled, us‑versus‑them nationalism. While this can create upsides—new customers, loyalty, pricing power—it also exposes companies to narrative capture, boycotts, and legal scrutiny. To avoid risk, companies must examine their exposure along two axes: domestic embeddedness and symbolic intensity. Leaders must align operations and symbolism, set clear guardrails, and proactively manage meaning drift before others define their loyalties.
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