Boycott campaigns show mixed results
If you channel your political views through your wallet, what good will it do? There have been recent calls for a boycott of Sears Canada, as it undergoes restructuring while cutting about 2,900 jobs. Many Canadians don’t like the way this is happening, and say they won’t buy Sears products. The strategy of refusing to purchase goods and services to make a point has targeted many companies — and governments — over the years, with varying degrees of success.
For example, Israeli businesses have long endured boycotts from those who disagree with its government; Nestle has faced boycotts over marketing of infant formula; PETA has called for boycotts of movies it deems cruel to animals. And while it’s easy to think of boycott campaigns as tools favoured by the left, they’re also used widely by anti-abortion and “family values” activists.
Do they work? Sort of. It depends on your definition of success. Research shows about one-quarter of boycotts achieve something, but not necessarily everything activists want.
There were some successful boycotts, such as the campaign in the 1990s against Nike over its use of child labour. Or the Montgomery, Ala. bus boycott in 1955-56. AfricanAmericans refused to use segregated bus system for nearly a year in one of the first demonstrations of the civil rights era.
But, in many cases, says Carleton University Prof. Ian Lee, research shows such actions don’t work. “You can’t say that there’s a consistent pattern with boycotts,” Lee says.
A successful boycott needs to be precise — with concrete concerns and demands. It also must be something many people care about strongly. And it must be easy to participate in. Everyone agrees child labour’s bad, so it’s not hard to rally people against it. And they have alternatives to purchasing goods made by children. It’s more complex when you deal with phenomena such as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement that targets Israel, where people can be found on different sides of the argument.
However, companies are brand-conscious, meaning a show of wide public concern can encourage better behaviour. “Reputation threats … are effective inasmuch as a boycott receives wide media coverage,” wrote Northwestern University professor Brayden King in a 2011 article.
The success of a boycott is not necessarily the point, though. It is simply the principle of the matter, people acting in a certain way that aligns with their own politics or values, regardless of what the end result is.
So, by all means boycott anyone or anything you choose. Just don’t expect it to be a miracle strategy. — Postmedia News