Sustainability, Vol. 10, Pages 4786: Understanding the Motivations Influencing Ecological Boycott Participation: An Exploratory Study in Viet Nam (Sustainability)

Over the past years, the world has witnessed the growth of ecological boycotts and its impact is increasing leading to the need to better understand this field. Following this movement, Viet Nam, located in Southeast Asia has also swiftly been paying attention to ecological concerns, which have resulted in a variety of ecological boycotts in recent years. While motivations for economic, religious, social, and political boycotts have previously been investigated, the motivations for participation in ecological boycotts have not yet been considered appropriately. This study highlights that a means-end chain (MEC) theory provides an influential method which helps reveal the motives that drive consumers to participate in the ecological boycott in Viet Nam. Processing several in-depth interviews of 60 Vietnamese boycotters and performing MEC analysis, results have shown five major motivations for participation in ecological boycotts, comprising environmentally sustainable consciousness, health consciousness, self-enhancement, meaning in life, and security. The findings are expected to contribute towards both academic aspects (additional understanding related to ecological boycott) and practical aspects (providing valid knowledge for organizers of boycotts and targeted companies to evaluate the ecological boycott and determine factors that can be modified).