Boycott and Buycott as Emerging Modes of Civic Engagement

Introduction

In the United States and other parts of the industrialized world, there is a growing dissatisfaction within civil society regarding issues such as food safety, environmental degradation, social justice and corporate practices. Anecdotal and case study evidence suggest the inability of the conventional political system to deal effectively with citizens concerns, resulting in the emergence of new forms of political action such as such as boycotts—punishing businesses for unfavorable behavior (Neilson, 2010, p. 214) and buycotts—the deliberate act of purchasing a product to support specific ethical, moral, or political concerns (Sandovici & Davis, 2010, p. 329). This development may be motivating consumers to use the marketplace as a site for political action (Goodman & DuPuis, 2002; Stolle & Hooghe, 2005; Stolle & Micheletti, 2013). Such politically motivated consumptive behavior with societal and political change motives is referred as political consumption. According to Webster (1975), a political consumer is someone who takes into account the public consequences of his or her private consumption or who attempts to use his or her purchasing power to bring about social change. It includes the related acts of buycotting and boycotting (Neilson, 2010). It is an alternative mode of political/civic engagement (Keum, Devanathan, Deshpande, Nelson & Shah, 2004; Stolle, Hooghe & Micheletti, 2005).

The use of the marketplace as a site for political action is a relatively new (or at least less studied) form of political participation (Giddens, 1991; Galston, 1991; Micheletti, Follesdal & Stolle, 2006). It reflects recognition of material products as embedded in a complex social and normative context (Micheletti, 2003). In that regard, scholars contend that citizens are refraining from engaging in established (conventional such as attending a political rally, and signing a petition) political participation and resort to unconventional forms (such as boycott and buycott) of political action due to distrust and inefficiency of conventional forms of political participation to address their concerns in post-industrialized societies (Inglehart & Baker, 2000; Norris, 2002). The rise of buycotts and boycotts reflects a growing perception by consumers that the market is a viable medium through which to express their political and social concerns (Micheletti, 2010). According to Togebey (1993), these emerging forms of political participation mobilize new social groups into politics and also extend the conventional political participation repertoire. Similarly, political consumption actions may supplement conventional forms of political participation (Stromes, 2009).