Faculty Publications

Partisan Consumerism: Experimental Tests of Consumer Reactions to Corporate Political Activity

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Politics

Volume

82

Issue

3

First Page

996

Last Page

1007

Abstract

To what extent do consumers’ preferences change when they learn about firms’ partisan allegiances? We address this question by conducting a series of experiments in which Democrats and Republicans were presented with factual information about corporate political donations. Outcomes were measured through expressed shopping intentions as well as a revealed consumer preference. Respondents became significantly more (less) likely to patronize chains that support (oppose) their party. The effects are found for both convenience samples and representative national samples and when information is conveyed in the context of a survey or unobtrusively via direct mail. Effects are especially large among those with strong partisan attachments. We conclude by arguing that the potential for partisan consumerism has risen with the advent of social media but may be undermined by a campaign finance system that increasingly allows for undisclosed corporate donations.

Department

Department of Political Science

Original Publication Date

7-1-2020

DOI of published version

10.1086/707491

Link to Full Text

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