Factors Influencing Willingness to Share Resources Postdisaster: A Cross-Cultural Comparison between US and Japanese Communities

Abstract

When large-scale disasters occur, people often are left on their own to seek critical resources: food, water, medications, and other important items. Historically, government agencies have developed disaster preparedness strategies focused primarily on either the level of the individual or household or on the ability of government agents to provide relief to affected areas. Such approaches do not consider the potential for community members to share needed resources with one another—a crucial factor in survival when earthquakes, floods, landslides, and other disruptions to transportation and communications cut off whole communities from external aid. In this study, we used a simple random sample survey to measure households’ actual and perceived preparedness and assess individuals’ willingness to share essential resources following a large disaster using survey data gathered from three communities in the Pacific Northwest of the US (N=638; overall response rate 20.1%) and Nagoya, Japan (N=1,043; response rate 13.6%), two regions that expect to experience a magnitude 9.0 megaquake. Analysis of the survey data using an ordered response probit model found that the strength of social ties and levels of social trust strongly influence willingness to share in both regions. Differences between the Japanese and American responses suggest different dependencies on and roles for government agencies in the two societies, as well as differences in the types of resources that community members are willing to share, and with whom. Trust emerges as the most important factor across both study regions and for all resources. Willingness to share may be enhanced through trust-building interventions and should be regarded as an effective focus for preparedness efforts, especially if it is shown to be beneficial for a variety of social purposes. The impacts of natural disasters worldwide have increased in recent years, often leading to situations in which communities must fend for themselves and make do with what resources they have while waiting for outside assistance to arrive. This research considered the potential benefits of community members sharing resources with one another during disaster. We surveyed households in both US and Japanese communities facing extreme earthquake threats to understand how willing they would be to share resources with others in a disaster and what factors might affect their willingness to share. Our results show that although there are some differences, trust is the most important factor for sharing resources in both regions. We argue that building trust within communities can improve disaster outcomes while also providing everyday benefits for society.