AMERICAN POLITICS & PUBLIC POLICY WORKSHOP: Costas Panagopoulos (Fordham), “Risky Business: Does Corporate Political Spending Affect Consumer Behavior?”

Do consumers reward or punish companies for their involvement in politics? What effect (if any) does information about a firm’s political contributions have on consumer attitudes toward the contributing company? We perform a series of survey experiments and a field experiment that examine these questions. A pre-survey collects information about consumption habits and preferences related to a number of companies, including fast food restaurants and big box stores. A follow-up survey takes the form of a quiz in which respondents are asked factual questions about the companies included in the pre-survey. Following each question, respondents are informed whether their response is correct (or incorrect) and provided with a brief explanation. Respondents are randomly assigned, via a quiz question, to one of several treatment conditions that expose them to different types of political donation information about the target companies. We then use a behavioral test, choosing a gift card, to examine how consumers reward or punish the contributing companies. In general, the findings are in line with our theoretical predictions. Information about a corporation’s contribution history has a significant effect, conditioned by partisanship, on respondent preferences for patronizing the donating company.

Costas Panagopoulos is Visiting Professor of Political Science and a Fellow at the Center for the Study of American Politics at Yale University during 2015-2016. He is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy at Fordham University. Professor Panagopoulos is also Editor of American Politics Research.