Title: Why do they boycott? Withholding consumption among London's Muslim Arabs

Authors: Omar Al Serhan; Ibrahim Sirkeci; Elias Boukrami

Addresses: American University of Afghanistan, Darul Aman Road – Kabul, Afghanistan ' Regent's University London, Inner Cir, London NW1 4NS, UK ' Regent's University London, Inner Cir, London NW1 4NS, UK

Abstract: Many studies discussed consumers boycott in various contexts but they all agreed that it constitutes an undesirable behaviour from business firms' perspective. Consumer's buying and boycotting behaviour is influenced by various factors. Limited studies focused on consumer boycott from transnational consumers prospective. The current study examines the boycotting behaviour of London Arabs and the factors that influence it. An online survey was used for data collection. Four key measures adapted from the literature were used in this research and multiple regressions were applied to examine the factors influencing boycotting behaviour. The study found that London Arabs boycotting behaviour is characterised by their demographics, religion, transnationality and social capital. This paper offers an empirically tested foundation for understanding the boycotting behaviours of this largely uncharted segment of consumers. It is the first study that examines this transnational segment's boycotting behaviour where transnationality and connectedness are proven to be powerful factors in influencing boycotting behaviour.

Keywords: consumer boycott; London Arabs; withholding consumption; transnational consumers; multiple regression analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTCS.2017.086676

International Journal of Teaching and Case Studies, 2017 Vol.8 No.2/3, pp.216 - 239

Received: 20 Mar 2017
Accepted: 25 Apr 2017
Published online: 18 Sep 2017 *

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