Why do entrepreneurs choose to use consumer power as an alternative political channel in order to create social and political change? What are the conditions that lead them to adopt this strategy? The main purpose of this article is to offer a theoretical framework to discuss political consumerism strategy used by social entrepreneurs, those who seek to influence political norms in society, the conduct of the business market, and the shaping of public policy. The theoretical model, which this article intends to propose, is based on the new institutional approach (Neo-Institutionalism) and on the principles of the rational choice theory. The article suggests an explanatory variable in the form of political consumerism as an alternative means for political participation (alternative politics), which is influenced by structural, political, economic, and cultural conditions as well as by rational cost-benefit calculations made by entrepreneurs. For an empirical study of the proposed theoretical framework, the article analyzes two campaigns where the entrepreneurs employed political consumerism as a primary action strategy to promote issues related to social justice as institutional changes in Israel. The first of these was the campaign launched by the “
In spite of legal limitations, commerce in Israel on the Sabbath has expanded significantly in the past two decades. This secular development is counteracted by religious boycotts of stores operating on the Sabbath. Using Ulrich Beck's concept of sub-politics, we explain the shift away from the formal political realm, a result of a deadlocked political system that is no longer able to regulate boundaries between the religious and secular realm. As a result, both religious and secular communities use their power as consumers, albeit in different ways, to shape the public sphere. Using media reports and open-ended interviews with religious and secular entrepreneurs we demonstrate how, first, the value of formal political channels was eroded and, second, how the economic power of religious and secular consumers is used in the new struggles to shape the day of rest.
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