Exploring consumer purchase aversion amid Israel-Palestine war: a comparative study of consumers in India and GCC countries

Purpose In the context of ongoing Israel-Palestine war, this study aims to explore whether consumer animosity (CA) influences individuals’ reluctance to purchase brands contributing towards the hostile nation. Furthermore, it investigates the mediating effects of product judgement (PJ), boycott motivation (BM) and boycott participation (BP) in this relationship. It also examines the moderating roles of susceptibility to subjective norms (SSN) and switching barriers (SB) in shaping their relationships with purchase aversion (PA). Design/methodology/approach Using existing validated scales, the authors designed and administered an online survey to collect 589 responses from India and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Using Smart PLS 4.0, the authors tested the hypothesized direct and indirect (mediated-moderated) relationships. Findings The findings reveal that in India, CA towards certain brands leads to negative evaluations, BM and BP. In GCC countries, it positively influences BM and BP. In general, SB subsides the influence of BM, PJ and BP on PA; however, SB has no moderating effects at all in the study. Originality/value Drawing upon the theory of planned behaviour, this paper offers novel insights into mediating and moderating roles of selected variables, namely, PJ, BM, BP, SSN and SB, in the direct relationship of CA and PA.