Mapping Studies on Consumer Boycotting in International Marketing

Abstract

Consumer boycotting behaviour has serious consequences for organisations targeted. In this paper, a review of literature on boycotting from 1990 to 2013 is presented. Several consumer boycotting types are identified based on motivations underlying. These are influenced by religious beliefs, cultural values and political opinions. We have scanned all articles dealing with consumer boycotting behaviour in marketing literature. 115 scholarly articles published in 25 top marketing journals as ranked in the ABS (Association of Business Journal Schools) Review from 1990 to 2013 are reviewed. Along with outlining the research in this area, we also wanted to assess the level of attention paid to brand loyalty in relation to boycotting behaviour. Despite the fact that existing literature listed a number of factors that can potentially trigger consumers’ boycotts i.e. religion, war, political, economic, cultural, environmental, and ethical reasons. Nevertheless, there is no ranking of factors indicating which one are the most influential (e.g. long lasting, most damaging in terms of brand loyalty, etc.). Our review also suggests that boycott campaigns in developed nations are mainly motivated by economic triggers. However, in developing nations boycott calls and campaigns were motivated by religious triggers or by ethical triggers. The impact of boycotting on consumers’ brand loyalty, relation between religion, race, country of origin and the level of regional as well as national development would need to be researched further in order to shed light on its effect on the success or failure of boycott calls from consumers’ perspective and the prevention of such calls from the targeted firms’ point of view.

Impact of consumer animosity, boycott participation, boycott motivation, and product judgment on purchase readiness or aversion of Kurdish consumers in Iraq

“…Consumer boycotts differ according to the political and economic climate of the involved country. In developed countries, economic factors drive consumer boycott campaigns, whereas religious incidents and political conflicts are the principal drivers in developing countries (Al Serhan and Boukrami, 2015). The type of animosity differs in impact; non‐political animosity can have an immediate short‐term impact, whereas political animosity can have a more long‐lasting impact on consumers' behavior against a specific country (Yu et al ., 2020).…”

Purchase Unwillingness and Willingness of Indonesian Consumers towards Israeli Products

“…In developing countries, a boycott was mostly caused by religious and political triggers. Meanwhile, in developed countries, a boycott was mainly caused by economic triggers (Al Serhan & Boukrami, 2015). Furthermore, Seegebarth et al (2011) distinguished consumers based on their boycott intention, namely the self-centred sceptics, the ambitious activists, the concerned waverer, and the mindless follower.…”

Consumer animosity and perceived cultural distance: Toward mutual well‐being for refugees and host countries

“…Animosity was demonstrated to affect negatively product‐quality judgment in the case of products sold by Arab businesses among Israeli consumers (Shoham et al, 2006; Shoham & Gavish, 2016), and of British products among Arab Israeli consumers (Rose et al, 2009). These results suggest that intercultural relationships may prompt religious, political, economic, cultural, environmental, or ethical triggers among consumers (Al‐Serhan & Boukrami, 2015), in the form of animosity. Similar results have been found in the few studies that have analyzed animosity as a part of service encounters (Kashif et al, 2015), and that animosity influences the consumers' ethnicity preferences across medical, education, financial, and cleaning services (Baumann & Setogawa, 2014).…”