Consumer boycotting behavior in response to war-related and trade-related geopolitical conflicts : a comparison of France and Finland
Rod, Lauren (2026)
Pro gradu -tutkielma
2026
School of Business and Management, Kauppatieteet
Kaikki oikeudet pidätetään.
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20260703109543
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20260703109543
Tiivistelmä
The purpose of this study is to examine how consumers respond to boycotting in the context of different geopolitical conflicts. More precisely, the aim is to understand how consumers respond in war-related boycotts versus trade-related boycott scenarios, and how these responses differ between French and Finnish consumers. The study is conducted from the consumer’s perspective.
The thesis consists of theoretical and empirical chapters. The theoretical chapters present consumer boycotting as a form of political consumerism and discuss the role of country of origin, the geopolitical conflict, war-related boycotts, and trade-related boycotts. The empirical chapters of this study are based on a mixed-methods research design where pilot interviews were conducted with French and Finnish students as an exploratory phase to support the development of the survey. Quantitative data were gathered through an online survey distributed to student respondents in France and Finland. Seven pilot interviews were conducted, and the final quantitative sample consisted of 122 French and Finnish student respondents.
The results of the research did not provide statistical support for all the proposed hypotheses; however, some hypotheses were supported or partially supported. Descriptive patterns suggest possible differences between war-related and trade-related boycott scenarios as well as differences between French and Finnish respondents, though the findings were limited by the sample and not statistically significant. The results provide insight into how consumers think about boycotting in geopolitical contexts, especially by considering the importance of separating boycott intention and reported behavior and including practical constraints to boycott participation.
An interesting finding is that respondents in the pilot interviews generally spoke about war-related conflicts as being more worthy of boycotting, but the survey results did not show stronger war-related boycott intentions in the primary comparisons. However, supplementary general intentions showed higher intended participation in war-related conflicts than trade-related conflicts. The findings differed depending on how the boycott intention was measured.
The thesis consists of theoretical and empirical chapters. The theoretical chapters present consumer boycotting as a form of political consumerism and discuss the role of country of origin, the geopolitical conflict, war-related boycotts, and trade-related boycotts. The empirical chapters of this study are based on a mixed-methods research design where pilot interviews were conducted with French and Finnish students as an exploratory phase to support the development of the survey. Quantitative data were gathered through an online survey distributed to student respondents in France and Finland. Seven pilot interviews were conducted, and the final quantitative sample consisted of 122 French and Finnish student respondents.
The results of the research did not provide statistical support for all the proposed hypotheses; however, some hypotheses were supported or partially supported. Descriptive patterns suggest possible differences between war-related and trade-related boycott scenarios as well as differences between French and Finnish respondents, though the findings were limited by the sample and not statistically significant. The results provide insight into how consumers think about boycotting in geopolitical contexts, especially by considering the importance of separating boycott intention and reported behavior and including practical constraints to boycott participation.
An interesting finding is that respondents in the pilot interviews generally spoke about war-related conflicts as being more worthy of boycotting, but the survey results did not show stronger war-related boycott intentions in the primary comparisons. However, supplementary general intentions showed higher intended participation in war-related conflicts than trade-related conflicts. The findings differed depending on how the boycott intention was measured.