SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Purpose: Consumer boycotting is on the increase for various reasons. Macro-boycotting campaigns, against one or more countries and their companies rather than a specific single company, have had devastating effects on companies. Thus, learning from the way in which Arla Foods has combated such a ferocious campaign is useful for companies that are facing similar campaigns and would help in developing a successful marketing strategy during and after boycotting campaigns. Design/methodology/approach: Secondary data were collected through various sources. Importantly, primary data were collected using interviews with senior managers at Arla Foods and a survey of 254 customers in Saudi Arabia. Findings: The come-back strategy developed and used by Arla Foods has had a good and positive impact and has helped the company to regain most of the market share it lost at the beginning of the boycotting campaign. Several steps were developed to combat the boycotting and regain the market. Originality/value: The unique position of Arla Foods during the boycotting campaign, which was unprecedented, creates a new challenge which requires new thinking of how to combat such severe and sudden change in the market conditions. Thus, as the frequency of boycotting is on the increase, the case study outlined a number of steps which can be adopted by other international companies.