The Mediating Role of Consumer Boycott Participation Motives in The Effect of Consumer Cynicism on Consumer Boycott Behaviour

Consumer cynism, it is explained by the distrust, dissatisfaction and unmet expectations that consumers feel towards businesses. Consumer boycott behavior is evaluated as a form of consumer behavior in marketing science. Consumer boycott participation motives are expressed as the motivations that enable consumers to participate in the boycott. The purpose of this study is to examine whether a significant mediating effect of consumer boycott participation motives in the effect of consumer cynicism on consumer boycott behavior. The scope of the research consists of the residents of Erzurum province. Therefore, the research was limited to Erzurum province. The research was carried out by using the questionnaire method with 401 consumers living in Erzurum. Arithmetic average, standard deviation, frequency distribution, reliability analysis, variance analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, exploratory factor analysis and structural equation analysis were used in the analysis of the data obtained in this research. Lisrel 8.51 and SPSS 22.0 package statistics programs were used in the analysis. As a result of the reliability and confirmatory factor analyzes applied in the study, it was determined that the research variables had a high degree of reliability and the goodness of fit values were also within acceptable limits as a result of the modifications made. In the study, it was determined that the consumer cynism level of the consumers was 3.34, their consumer boycott behaviour level was 3.78 and their consumer boycott participation motives level was 3.30. As a result of the structural equation analysis performed in the study, it was found that the variables of making a difference and self-enhancement among the consumer boycott participation motives has a significant mediating effect on the effect of consumer cynicism on consumer boycott behavior; on the other hand, it was determined that the counter-arguments did not have a significant mediating effect.