Safety in Numbers? Why Indians at the Bottom of the Pyramid Herd Their Votes and the Policy Implications
This study examines how and why base of the pyramid (BOP) political consumers make inequitable voting choices by herding their votes. A two-phase mixed-methods approach was adopted, using in-depth interviews and surveys, and structural equation modeling of the quantitative data. We conclude that, in the BOP political environment, dominated by vulnerability and coercion, the typical mechanism (i.e., developed economies) for voter choice based more on attitude→intention→behavior is altered to information→coercion→attitude→herd behavior→intention. This study explains how BOP voters’ behavior is different in the context of developing economies, expanding our understanding of political consumption behavior in developing and underdeveloped democracies. The findings have significant implications for how parties and other stakeholders in developing economies might better serve their electorates. The study helps policymakers to adopt more appropriate strategies to protect BOP voters, especially from coercion, and thereby encourage voters to make less constrained choices when voting.
Funding
Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)[IMPRESS/P2326/88/2018-19/ICSSR]
History
Author affiliation
College of Business Marketing & StrategyVersion
- VoR (Version of Record)
Published in
Journal of Political MarketingPublisher
Taylor & Francis (Routledge)issn
1537-7857eissn
1537-7865Copyright date
2024Available date
2025-03-28Publisher DOI
Language
enPublisher version
Deposited by
Professor Paul BainesDeposit date
2024-12-08Data Access Statement
The data associated with this study are available here: https://bit.ly/3rqp2yI.Rights Retention Statement
- Yes