Rethinking Consumer Boycotts

Last September, executives from Arla Foods amba, the Danish dairy giant, probably paid scant attention to a series of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper. Six months later, they learned a hard lesson about religion and commerce. Arla executives watched their annual sales in the Middle East not just drop from $430 million but virtually vanish. How did a company from Denmark, a country not exactly known for triggering international controversy, find itself at the center of a geopolitical, religious and commercial maelstrom? The answer extends beyond sales of Danish butter in Saudi Arabia. Based on a decade-long program of research studying global consumer boycotts, key lessons from these recent events are offered.