Political marketing, word of mouth communication and voter behaviours interaction

Abstract

Political actors aim at persuading voters, who are the key elements of target market in order to win election by gaining a higher vote potential than their opponents. Whether voter preferences are shaped by political elements or by the effects of social environment has become the focus of the studies within the relevant literature. The main purpose of this study is to determine the effect of political marketing activities and word of mouth communication and to determine mediator role WOM communication on voter behaviours. The study is conducted in Konya on a sample consisting of 432 voters and the size of which is determined by convenience sampling method by using face-to-face survey method. Political marketing, word of mouth communication and voter behaviours are confirmed by structural equation modelling through confirmatory factor analysis. As a result of the study, political marketing activities and word of mouth communication are found to have a positive effect on voter behaviour. Furthermore, it is determined that word of mouth communication have mediator role in the effect of political marketing activities on voter behaviours