Chocolate and politics: a crossnational, survey-based experiment on recruitment to a boycott campaign

Organizations spend millions of dollars to encourage citizens to participate in their campaigns; however, organizations' mobilization effectiveness has been under question. This report uses a survey-based experiment (n = 6,290) to examine the extent to which a friend’s versus an organization’s endorsement affects people’s willingness to boycott chocolate because of the use of child labor. The survey data were gathered in autumn 2019 in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Canada. We find that organizational endorsements are ineffective in influencing a subject’s willingness to participate in a boycott. Instead, prompts from friends increase the willingness to participate. Views about chocolate moderate the effectiveness of a friend’s endorsement of the boycott. The findings provide insight into the roles of organizations and interpersonal ties in mobilizing citizens to engage in political activities.