Panagopoulos, Costas, Donald Green, Jonathan Krasno, Michael Schwam-Baird, and Kyle Endres. 2020. "Partisan Consumerism: Experimental Tests of Consumer Reactions to Corporate Political Activity." Journal of Politics. 82(3): 996-1007. pdf
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.
Endres, Kyle and Costas Panagopoulos. 2017. "Boycotts, buycotts and political consumerism in America." Research & Politics. 4(4): 1-9. pdf
Anecdotal and experimental evidence suggests that at least some consumers change their purchasing behavior in response to the values, reputations, and political activity of corporations. Using two nationally-representative surveys and a third survey of registered voters, we find Americans’ engagement in boycotts and/or buycotts for political or social reasons to be widespread. Social media activity, political knowledge, ideological intensity, and an interest in politics are significantly associated with political-consumer behavior. Among partisans, we find both instrumental and expressive partisanship to be significant predictors of political consumerism.
Endres, Kyle, Costas Panagopoulos, and Don Green. 2021 "Elite Messaging and Partisan Consumerism: An Evaluation of President Trump’s Tweets and Polarization of Corporate Brand Images." Political Research Quarterly. 74(4): 834-851. pdf
One of the hallmarks of the Trump Administration has been the president’s frequent use of Twitter to express his approval of or disdain for firms such as LL Bean or Macy’s. The suddenness with which corporations have come into the political spotlight presents a research opportunity to scholars interested in opinion leadership and partisan polarization. To what extent do presidential tweets lead to polarization of Democrats’ and Republicans’ opinions about the firms that are praised or excoriated? Are these effects especially strong among co-partisans? How long-lasting are they? Using weekly evaluations of firms that came under fire from President Trump’s tweets, we model the net brand ratings of Democratic and Republican respondents. Our time-series results suggest that presidential criticism via Twitter typically has strong immediate effects on net ratings that subside after a few months. One noteworthy exception is presidential criticism of Apple, which coincided with criticism from prominent Democrats as well. Overall, the magnitude of the immediate effect demonstrates the role of elite opinion leadership in precipitating polarized assessments of firms that were previously evaluated similarly across the political spectrum.