Comparing the antecedents of boycotts and buycotts: mediating role of self-esteem on subjective well-being and the moderating effects of materialism

Consumers use different strategies to lead companies to behave environmentally. While boycotts are the most common ones, buycotts are relatively novel and more research is needed to understand this new phenomenon. This study aimed to comparatively investigate the antecedents (self-enhancement, moral obligation, expected efficacy) and consequences (self-esteem, subjective well-being) of participation in boycotts and buycotts. Besides, self-esteem is expected to be both a predictor of subjective well-being and also a mediator between participation intention and subjective well-being. The study also investigates the moderating effects of materialism on the impacts of participation motivations. According to the results, all hypotheses related to direct and indirect effects were supported, and the relationships were observed differently for boycotts and buycotts. Also, we found some significant moderator effects of materialism.