Amid a rising wave of nationalism, Chinese shoppers have mounted at least 78 boycotts of foreign companies since 2016, more than six times the number seen in the preceding eight years, a new study has found.
And while consumer brands all face the same complex operating environment in China, how they get out of hot water differs depending on the issue, according to the research by the Swedish National China Center.
In general, companies quickly apologize when they’ve been boycotted for issues around territory China considers sovereign, but far less frequently when it comes to the topic of alleged human rights violations.