Who Boycotts Whom? Marginalization, Company Knowledge, and Strategic Issues

Abstract

The authors apply marginalization theory to develop a model of boycotts that incorporates both individual motives and corporate strategic issues. Overall, their analysis of more than 25,000 individual evaluations of 59 companies suggests that members of marginalized groups are more likely to boycott. Individuals are less likely to boycott companies about which they are knowledgeable and more likely to boycott companies that are organized boycott targets. In addition, the authors find systematic differences in the types of boycotts associated with strategic issues that are supported by members of marginalized groups. Overall, boycott supporters tend to be upwardly mobile members of marginalized groups.

Keywords: boycott, marginalization, social movement, minority, strategic issue

JEL Classification: M14