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Political activism and indulgent preferences: Perceived moral contribution and deservingness
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Political activism and indulgent preferences: Perceived moral contribution and deservingness

Fairuz Chowdhury and Srinivasan Swaminathan
Journal of retailing and consumer services, v 95, 105100
Feb 2027
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2026.105100
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Abstract

BOP Indulgence Moral licensing Perceived deservingness Perceived moral contribution Political activism
Political activism is commonly conceptualized as a form of collective action that promotes individual empowerment, collective efficacy, and societal well-being. However, this research demonstrates that activism focused on the pursuit of a collective goal can also have paradoxical consequences by increasing subsequent indulgent preferences. Drawing on moral licensing theory, when high-effort, in-person activism is grounded in moral conviction, actors may interpret their effortful involvement as a morally meaningful contribution to a collective cause, enhancing a sense of perceived moral contribution, which heightens perceived deservingness and, in turn, indulgence. Across four experimental studies (n = 852) in emerging and developed economies, the results highlight that participants exposed to high-effort, in-person activism scenarios subsequently demonstrated higher levels of indulgence than those in low-effort online actions or the control condition. These effects are moderated by consumer type in emerging markets, with the effect of high-effort activism on indulgence being stronger among bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) consumers. Our findings caution advocacy organizations against assuming that effortful civic participation consistently reinforces prosocial behavior.

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