The Voter as a Value Consumer: The Role of Education in the Relationship Perceived Political Brand Image and Voting Intention

Abstract

The world has experienced unprecedented political crises over the past decade. Indeed, we have witnessed political earthquakes with the dismissal of many presidents in Africa (the Arab Spring), Latin America and the Middle East. These different political crises showed a renewal of the political patterns that once explained voting behavior and the emergence of new factors. Through this study, we attempt to examine the influence of the perceived image of the leaders or candidate's brand on voters' voting intention. In addition, we analyze the moderating role that the level of education could play in this relationship. For the implementation, the hypothetico-deductive approach was adopted following a positivist posture. On the basis of a questionnaire administered face to face with a sample of 420 electors chosen by convenience, the data collected were analyzed by means of the method of structural equations and multi-group analysis with the software AMOS. The main results obtained, highlighted in part, the influence of the perceived image of the brand of the leader or the candidate of the voting intention of voters and the moderating role of the level of education on this relationship. These results therefore show that the candidate's image is a determining factor in the voter's decision-making process and is a predictor of voters' voting intention. Furthermore, we note that this effect of the perceived image of the leaders or candidate's brand on voting intention varies according to the level of education of the voter.

Classification JEL : M 30 ;

Paper Type : Empirical Research.