Evaluating young adult voter decision-making involvement within a compulsory political system

Abstract

Purpose -This study aims to specifically focus on the lower-involvement young adult voters within the Australian compulsory voting context. It explores voters' political decision-making by considering the influence of the consumer behaviour theory of involvement. Design/methodology/approach -A thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the interviews within the two research questions: information seeking and decision-making.Findings -Key themes within information seeking are the reach of the information available, the frequency of the information presented, the creativity of the message and one-way versus two-way communication. Key themes within evaluation are promise keeping/trust, achievements or performance and policies. Lower-involvement decision-making has the potential to be a habitual, limited evaluation decision. However, issues of trust, performance and policies may encourage evaluation, thereby reducing the chances of habitually voting for the same party as before. Practical implications -This new area of research has implications for the application of marketing for organisations and political marketing theory. Considering voting decision-making as a lower-involvement decision has implications for assisting the creation and adaptation of strategies to focus on this group of the population. Originality/value -The compulsory voting environment creates a unique situation to study lower-involvement decision-making, as these young adults are less likely to opt out of the voting process. Previous research in political marketing has not specifically explored the application of involvement to young adult voting within a compulsory voting environment.

Dynamics of Voter Satisfaction: Empirical Investigation of Young Indian Voters

“…Researchers across the globe have examined the voter concerns and preferences that can lead to voter satisfaction with the existing political system. In fact, the domain of voter concerns and preferences grabbed the interests of researchers for the first time in the 1952 USA elections (Rothschild, 1978;Winchester et al, 2015). Since then, the researchers have examined this domain of study employing different approaches (Cwalina, Falkowski, Newman, & Vercic, 2004;Newman & Sheth, 1985;O'Cass, 2003O'Cass & Pecotich, 2005.…”

“…Enduring involvement refers to the general interest of voters in the politics of their country whereas situational involvement refers to the interest generated among voters by the specific election campaigns (Ben-Ur, 2007). The higher enduring and situational involvement leads to better response from voters (Antil, 1984;Burton & Netemeyer, 1992;Ben-Ur, 2007;Faber, Tims, & Schmitt, 1993;Rothschild, 1978;Winchester et al, 2015). In fact, the high level of enduring and situational involvement of voters also enable them to use a combination of constructive and realistic approach for decision making during elections (Ehrenberg, 1991;Erasmus, Boshoff, & Rousseau, 2001;Peng & Hackley, 2009;Zaichkowsky, 1985).…”

“…In the context of voting, previous researchers have suggested that higher voter satisfaction results in more participation of voters during elections (Hadjar & Beck, 2010). Hence, it is imperative for politicians to have indepth understanding of the factors that lead to higher voter satisfaction and hence, contribute in active voter participation in the election process (Banerjee & Ray Chaudhuri, 2016;Ehrenberg 1997;Henn, Weinstein, & Forest, 2005;O'Cass & Pecotich, 2005;Winchester, Hall, & Binney, 2015).…”

“…Globally, politicians are making attempts to unravel concerns and preferences of voters for the purpose of designing effective election campaigns (Fyfe, 2009;Henn et al, 2005;Jasperson & Yun, 2007;Manning, 2010;Vaishnav, 2015;Winchester et al, 2015). In this regard, earlier studies have suggested that voters rely on critical and rational thinking to arrive at election decisions (Falkowski & Cwalina, 2012;Peng & Hackley, 2009).…”

“…In this regard, earlier studies have suggested that voters rely on critical and rational thinking to arrive at election decisions (Falkowski & Cwalina, 2012;Peng & Hackley, 2009). In fact, the researchers have opined that the decision of voters to elect a political party or a leader is the reflection of their basic needs (Banerjee & Ray Chaudhuri, 2016;Burton & Netemeyer, 1992;Harris & Lock, 2010;O'Cass & Pecotich, 2005;Palda, 1975;Winchester et al, 2015).…”