Ummatic macro-boycott motives: a socio-cultural perspective

This study introduces a new concept called “Ummatic boycotts” to distinguish global Muslim boycotts from other consumer boycotts. Despite the high occurrence and serious political and economic implications of Ummatic macro-boycotts, consumers' motives behind such boycotts are largely unknown. In addition, socio-cultural contexts have been largely ignored in boycott studies. Therefore, this study investigates motives behind Muslims' participation in Ummatic macro-boycotts and how socio-cultural contexts impact formation of such motives. The findings suggest, although an Ummatic macro-boycott is a collective response against an offending country, Muslims are socio-culturally diverse and driven by different motives. Hence global firms require customized strategies for each market, based on the socio-cultural context.