Consumer Boycotts as a Consequence of Consumerism

Abstract

Consumerism is not a new concept for marketing, but it has grown in importance in the recent years. Researchers have studied consumerism from within different dimensions. However, its relationship with consumer boycotts has not been dealt with accurately. A consumer boycott is a type of consumer behaviour in which consumers collectively prefer not to use their purchasing power towards a product, brand, or all products of a country. Motivations for participating in boycotts differ in accordance with various factors such as consumers' beliefs, needs, or attitudes. Being boycotted by consumers may cause economic damage and decreased amount of reputation incurred in return. Organizing a boycott and calling for people's participation is much easier today than it used to be in the past. The Internet, especially social media, is an effective tool to inform people about boycotts and free of charge. However, that does not mean all the information circulating in the Internet is always of a reliable nature. In this chapter, the case of Danone in Turkey is thoroughly analyzed. Danone has been the target of Turkey's biggest Internet smear campaign which resulted in 26% shrinkage in its whole category sales. The aim of this chapter is to examine the case of Danone in Turkey as an example of the relationship between consumerism and consumer boycotts. The research for the case of Danone, which has a special importance in Turkey, uses secondary sources such as the daily newspapers, news pages in Internet, and Danone's web page. © 2014, IGI Global. All rights reserved.