The invasion of Ukraine has sent energy prices, and indeed inflation, soaring across most of the world, bringing with it an inevitable squeeze in the cost of living for a great many Europeans. Despite this cost pressure, research from Copenhagen Business School suggests that solidarity with the people of Ukraine remains strong, with people generally willing to bear the brunt of the higher costs to show their support.

“We are the first researchers to investigate and define what solidarity with a place like Ukraine really is. We have documented that solidarity does in fact exist, and we have measured that compassion and sympathy do have an effect in practice,” the researchers explain.

Showing solidarity

The researchers define solidarity in this context as “an individual’s compassion and sympathy with a place, resulting from an observation of relative suffering.”

The study found that the more people felt solidarity with Ukraine, the more likely they were to pay more for things like travel, as well as being more hospitable to Ukrainians and more interested in visiting the country.

What’s more, the study found that people with greater sympathy and compassion with Ukraine were also more likely to make active efforts, such as donating money, buying Ukrainian goods, or attending a demonstration.

As a result, the researchers believe that the strategy of Volodymyr Zelenskyy to appeal for solidarity in his speeches and campaigns was effectively the right one.

“Now that we know more than just anecdotally that solidarity with Ukraine makes people willing to pay more and act, organizations and companies can implement it in their strategy. If, for instance, an airline company intentionally avoids buying Russian oil, they should make sure to use it in their marketing activities. This also gives us the opportunity to investigate the emergence of this kind of solidarity,” the researchers conclude.