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On the Sources of Consumer Boycotts Ineffectiveness

INRA, UMR 356 Économie Forestière F-54000 Nancy, France Agroparistech, Engref, Laboratoire d'économie forestière, F-54000 Nancy, France, philippe.delacote{at}eui.eu

This article investigates weaknesses of consumer boycotts. First, usual shortcomings of collective action, such as coordination failure and free riding, reduce considerably the success likelihood. Second, consumers with the highest ability to hurt the targeted firm’s profit also have the highest opportunity cost of boycotting. Thus, they are less likely to participate in the boycott. Conversely, the most involved consumers have high environmental preferences and small amounts of consumption, which prevent them from hurting the firm’s profit enough.

Key Words: consumer boycott • war of attrition • environment • technology choice

The Journal of Environment & Development, Vol. 18, No. 3, 306-322 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1070496509338849


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