Blue and Red Voices: Effects of Political Ideology on Consumers’ Complaining and Disputing Behavior

Abstract

Political ideology plays a pivotal role in shaping individuals’ attitudes, opinions, and behaviors. However, apart from a handful of studies, little is known about how consumers’ political ideology affects their marketplace behavior. The authors used three large consumer complaint databases from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, and Federal Communications Commission in conjunction with a county-level indicator of political ideology (the 2012 US presidential election results) to demonstrate that conservative consumers are not only less likely than liberal consumers to report complaints but also less likely to dispute complaint resolutions. A survey also sheds light on the relationship between political ideology and complaint/dispute behavior. Due to stronger motivations to engage in “system justification,” conservative (as opposed to liberal) consumers are less likely to complain or dispute. The present research offers a useful means of identifying those consumers most and least likely to complain and dispute, given that political ideology is more observable than most psychological factors and more stable than most situational factors. Furthermore, this research and its theoretical framework open opportunities for future research examining the influence of political ideology on other marketplace behaviors.

The marketplace of ideology: “Elective affinities” in political psychology and their implications for consumer behavior

“…Findings such as these are consistent with the notion that liberals are lower than conservatives in terms of system justification motivation and are more likely to criticize prevailing economic institutions and business practices (e.g., Jost, Blount, Pfeffer, & Hunyady, 2003;Jost, Langer, Badaan, et al, 2017). Following up on this earlier work, Jung et al (2017). analyzed several hundred-thousand complaints to the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.…”

“…As we will see later in this article, the fact that conservatives possess a stronger motivation than liberals do to defend and justify the societal status quo helps to explain a number of ideological differences in consumer behavior Jung, Garbarino, Briley, and Wynhausen, 2017); Shepherd, Chartrand, & Fitzsimons, 2015). Over the years, there has been tremendous interest in the phenomenon of "status quo bias" (and related concepts such as loss and risk aversion) in behavioral decision theory (e.g., Kahneman, 2011;Moshinsky & Bar-Hillel, 2010;Thaler, 2015) and various applications in marketing, strategy, management, and organizational behavior (e.g., Chernev, 2004;Hartman, Doane, & Woo, 1991;Kim & Kankanhalli, 2009).…”

“…The relevance of political psychology is entirely obvious when it comes to political marketing-such as campaign messaging on behalf of electoral candidates and parties or steering social mobilization efforts on the part of community organizations. But research-based conclusions about ideological asymmetries should also inform any sophisticated understanding of lifestyle choices as well as judgments and decisions about consumer products and services (e.g., Crockett & Wallendorf, 2004;Fernandes & Ordabayeva, 2014;Holt, 2004;Jung et al, 2017;Khan et al, 2013).…”

Conservatism as a situated identity: Implications for consumer behavior

“…Conservatives believe in free will and a just world, and this implies that one deserves what one gets. Indeed, conservatism is associated with fewer consumer complaints and less dispute of the resolution of the complaints that one lodges (Jung, Garbarino, Briley, & Wynhausen, 2017).…”

Political ideology drives consumer psychology: Introduction to research dialogue

“…Conservatives' greater preferences for maintaining the status quo and traditional divisions in society translate into a greater tendency to use stereotypes in making a broad range of judgments (e.g., Stern, West, Jost, & Rule, 2013). Similar ideological patterns have been observed in reactions to products and advertising campaigns that confirm stereotypes or support the status quo (e.g., Feygina, Jost, & Goldsmith, 2010;Jost, Langer, & Singh, in press;Jung, Garbarino, Briley, & Wynhausen, 2017;Shepherd, Chartrand, & Fitzsimons, 2015), although work on such marketing implications has only recently begun. One implication of this literature is that conservatives are more likely than liberals to embrace brands, because brands (at least, well managed ones) provide the certainty and predictability that conservatives prefer.…”