The term boycott was coined during the disputes between Irish peasants and the British landlord class in the periods of the Agrarian revolution. In the said time, the word “ostracism” was the closest which would be used in describing the actions that the peasant farmers took against their landlords3. However, as the meaning of the word was not known to the peasant farmers at the time, two leaders took it upon themselves to create the new phrase “boycott”. As such, instead of ostracizing someone, these leaders felt that it was more appealing to say “boycotting someone”. Ultimately, the word boycott was born which describes the many consumer movements that are often initiated by a group of individuals who have less power against a group of powerful individuals (corporations). The aim of boycotts by consumer groups is usually to express dissatisfaction with certain situations and circumstances.There are a number of consumer boycotts. One such type according to Friedman is the instrumental boycott which is designed to force an organization to retreat by applying economic pressure. Such a type of boycott is the most predominant across ethical consumer boycotts by consumer groups. A report by Harrison showed that there were 37 successful instrumental boycotts in the past 15 years. Instrumental boycotts tend to require coordination, resources, and determination all in equal measure.The expressive boycott is another type of boycott. Such a boycott is usually more concerned with “discourse” or simply, political discussion in interesting ways on what is right or wrong. A classic example of such a type of boycott is the consumer boycott of the 25 biggest defense contractors in the U.S that took place in the 90s.Expressive boycotts allow for the raising of issues which may have otherwise never been. Expressive boycotts raise such issues in a manner that is less awkward when compared to how the issues may have been raised by other avenues.Boycotts may be effective in reducing the sales of a company but not successful in changing behavior or policy adopted by the firm. The case of the Nestle boycott is the best example of such a scenario. On the flipside, boycotts can, however, be successful in changing policy without being effective in causing a reduction in the sales of a company. There are instances where successful threats to boycott by campaign
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