The Importance of (online) Information and (online) Communication for Political Consumerism in Germany

The development and diffusion of digital media is one frequently mentioned factor to explain the popularity of political consumerism: Online media provide political consumers with greater access to information; Web 2.0 offers numerous channels for communication with like-minded others; and online marketplaces enable easier ways for political consumerism. Some studies have shown that online and offline media usage have a positive and direct influence on political consumerism (e.g., Keum et al., 2004; Zhang, 2015), while other studies have demonstrated an indirect influence of media usage on political consumerism, i.e., mediated via face-to-face communication (Shah et al., 2007). However, the relationship between offline and online information and communication, as well as its influence on political consumerism, remains largely unclear. Arguing that (online) information and (online) communication activities have different impacts on various forms of political consumerism—namely, on boycotts and buycotts—one representative sample of German citizens and one large-scale sample of German political consumers were analyzed. The results of regression analyses and path models indicate: (1) Political consumerism activities are influenced by (online) information and (online) communication. (2) (Online) communication mediates the influence of (online) information on boycotts and buycotts. (3) Boycotts are influenced by communication activities in a stronger way than buycotts. (4) The impact of online information on boycotts and buycotts is stronger than the impact of offline information, while the influence of offline communication on boycotts and buycotts is stronger than the impact of online communication. Implications of the results will be discussion in the lecture.