The impact of religiously motivated boycotts on brand loyalty among transnational consumers
Boycotting has been empirically proven to be damaging to business organisations, and there is compelling evidence to suggest that it is not only here to stay, but it is also on the increase. Brand loyalty is declining for many reasons including the effects of market competitiveness, the fading of brand differentiation andthe ever-changing marketplace landscape. Transnationality and its impact on consumer behaviour—despite the increase in the international human movements and border crossing—is still an understudied field.The conducted literature review suggests that little attention has been paid to explore the link between boycotting and brand loyalty from the transnational consumers perspective. To achieve the research objective, which is to develop an understanding of the impact of boycotting on brand loyalty and the influence of transnationality on this relationship, a mixed methods approach was adopted. Thirty-five qualitative interviews were conducted with London-based Muslim Arabs and sequentially an online questionnaire that generated 537 responses. This research has empirically revealed the negative impact of consumer boycotts on brand loyalty and highlighted the influential role that transnationality, social capital and demographics play in shaping the consumer boycotting and brand loyalty decision-making process. This study also explored the role of religion on boycotting and the subsequent brand loyalty behaviour and empirically confirmed that religiously motivated boycotts are damaging for business firms as they have a sudden and long-term negative effect on loyalty. The study shows that religious denominations have a significant impact on both boycotting and loyalty behaviour. Based on the study findings, implications, recommendations for management and consumers alike and suggestions for future research are presented.
History
School
- School of Management
Qualification level
- Doctoral
Qualification name
- PhD