Why We Boycott: Consumer Motivations for Boycott Participation

While boycotts are increasingly relevant for management decision-making, there has been little research of an individual’s motivation to boycott. We propose a conceptualization of boycotting and report a study of an actual boycott of a multinational firm that was prompted by factory closings. Consumers who viewed the closures as egregious were more likely to boycott the firm, though only a minority did so. Consistent with our hypotheses, moderators of the relationship between perceived egregiousness of the firm’s act and the boycott decision were four sets of variables, reflecting: the desire to promote change, the scope for self-enhancement, rationalizations that inhibit boycotting, and costs to the boycotter of participation. Implications for marketers, NGOs, policymakers and researchers are discussed.