The Effectiveness of Boycotting as a Way to Affect Societal Issues

Introduction

Boycotting is to refuse to buy a product or participate in a pastime as a manner of expressing robust disapproval. For example, inn 1791, pamphlets were printed in support for the participation for boycotting sugar produced by slaves after the Parliament refused to abolish slavery. The abolition for slavery was signed by hundreds of thousands of people in support for their campaign. In Mancester there were 20% of the city’s population who pledged their support of abolition. Strength in numbers was shown for the protest made the politicians who are pro-slavery to not ignore the public opinion (Kaye, 2011).

The Montgomery bus boycott was also a classic breakthrough movement in fighting for the civil rights of African American. The segregation of the blacks and whites in certain aspects before the civil rights was established, Rosa Parks, together with Martin Luther King Jr., lead the movement in eliminating the division which abuses the rights of the oppressed.

boycotting initiates a course of action responding to oppression, monopoly of businesses and religious discrimination, it also establishes motivation for effective moral culpability, and for the protection of consumers’ health on the negative effects of factory products.

Opposing argument and refutation

Boycotting is said to have negative effect on a country’s economy. For instance, in the boycotting of products during the Civil Rights era, particularly within the south, several businesses began to expertise economic loses, thanks to not simply blacks however whites additionally boycotting businesses (Marymede Catholic College, 2018).

The conceptual paper made by Abd-Razak and Abdul-Talib (2011) provided a better understanding among consumer boycotts specially in the Muslim dominant markets globally. The issues like the problems faced by the variety of Muslim dominant markets which are globally concerned could arouse unexpected effects. There are also proposed solution such as the Muslim consumers, as one of the emerging markets, to choose to express their frustration over military, political and economic oppression events against their community around the world via their “pocket power”.

Arguments’ presentation

Boycotting serves as a guide for the unity and drive for the people to say ‘no more’ to the societal issues that causes division, abuse, and discrimination. On Dec one, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks, a 42-year-old African Yankee garment-worker, sitting in an exceedingly separate bus, refused to convey up her seat to a White. It sparked the 13-month Montgomery Bus Boycott Associate in Nursing resulted in an early and vital finish for the Civil Rights movement. It dropped at national attention a 26-year-old recently appointed Baptist reverend by the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. (History In An Hour, 2012).

The article written by Alan Blinder in The New York Times made an important breakthrough of the history of civil rights. There had been an arrest warrant for Rosa Parks for Montgomery bus boycott stated in legal language, as well as the appeal bond of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who had undergone a trial for his conspiracy role in the boycott, also a record by a court clerk of Parks’s conviction, and Rosa Parks’s demurer which stated the facts but there was no erroneous act admittedly done. Mr. Fred Gray, along with his associates, never thought that these pieces of documents were once part of how civil rights was fought and a simple bus boycott initiated the cause.

Meanwhile, a research was conducted to establish a link between religious beliefs and consumers’ boycotts using an effective conceptual method namely qualitative, inductive, interpretive; phenomenological research approach. They have found that there is a strong relationship and a clear link between religiosity in Arabic/Islamic collectivist cultures and consumer behavior mainly on boycotting. Their findings also showed that consumers are collectively influenced by these factors in purchasing goods particularly for international brands. (Al-Hyari, Alnsour, Al-Weshah , and Haffar, 2011).

On the other hand, boycotting triggers the accountability of the one being boycotted as it is an effective way to establish goals to be attained. A study used netnography to examine boycott movements as well as boycott participation through collected data from consumer comments to an online boycott petition. The findings show that there is a strong expression of desire for boycott pledgees to abolish the egregious behavior, their aggression towards the behavior in question, and their eagerness for disciplinary actions in contrast for boycotting Canadian seafood. There is this belief that boycott motivation has the drive for consumers’ target in order to succeed with such behavior (Braunsbergera K. and Buckler B. 2011).

Regardless of a worldwide boom within the variety of boycott campaigns, the effects of studies are inconclusive as the reasons in the back of person participation are nonetheless largely disregarded. Drawing on a socio-cognitive concept, the concept of planned conduct, this studies investigates whether the direct variables of attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral manipulate, assist expect purchasers' boycott aim (Farah M. and Newman A., 2009).

Likewise, boycotting products for the protection of consumers’ health on the negative effects of factory products. Factory products gives negative effect not only to consumers’ health but also in other aspects like in the agricultural sect and genetic mutation of consumed products. The research conducted by Hoffmann and Müller (2008) concluded that the relocation of subsidiary’s homeland is considered to be a social irresponsibility that lead to consumer boycotting. However, some factors for boycotting remain largely uncharted. Thus, this study uses consumers’ degree of concern and level of trust in the management that might influence boycotting reaction. An analysis was also conducted that examined the results of additive satisfaction, trust and complete commitment on consumers' call to boycott. The study shows that their influence varies consistent with the sort of boycott, the instrumental versus expressive (Depardon K. and N’Goala G, 2009).

Conclusion

Boycotting is an effective way of expressing disagreement. As used in most instances, boycotting acts are in response to oppression, monopoly of businesses and religious discrimination. Boycotting is also an effective way of enlightening the mind of the one being boycotted to initiate a course of action towards positive change in their egregious or aggression behavior for the better and to act positively to towards greater good. Boycotting also establishes motivation for effective moral culpability, changing mindset, subjective norms and positive behavioral control. Finally, boycotting is an effective way of protecting the greater majority on the negative effects of some goods like factory products that gives negative effect not only to consumers’ health but also in other aspects like in the agricultural sector and the environment.