The main objective of the project is to examine the relationship between two central elements of the political system that is crucial for its functioning and stability, namely political parties and voters in terms of political branding. Despite its increasing popularity in Western democracies, the concept of political brand in Poland has not yet been systematically examined. We intend to study this phenomenon, focusing on three main research objectives:
- To develop understanding of how voters view the political brand: what features and values are ascribed to particular parties/brands, what are their strengths and weaknesses, what distinguishes these parties/brands from the competition?
- To study the influence of brand perception on loyalty and vote choice: whether perception of a brand influences propensity to vote for particular parties; whether a change in brand perception leads to voters’ support for different party/brand or abstention?
- To describe a target group of particular parties/brands: who are the voters/clients of particular parties/bands; what is their experience with the party/brand; what needs does the party/brand satisfy?
Achieving these objectives requires us:
- to construct mental maps of associations voters attribute to particular parties
- to describe target groups of adherents of particular brands
- to empirical verify our detailed hypotheses derived from existing theoretical and empirical work.
Poles are not loyal partisans of political parties, as they often change their preferences in a way difficult to explain by traditional approaches to party-voter relationship. According to the political branding approach, parties act as brands that have to do their best to attract consumers, i.e. voters. This approach offers an intuitive and compelling explanation of party-voter relationship.
Żerkowska-Balas, Marta
Principal Investigator
Specialization
sociologist and political scientist
First and last name
Marta Żerkowska-Balas
Academic degree or title
Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Email
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Discipline
political-science-and-public-administration
Position
profesor uczelni
Role in the Faculty
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Role in the Department
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Role in the Institute
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Role in the Research Center
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Ph.D. / Associate Professor Marta Żerkowska-Balassociologist and political scientist, specializing in theory and practice of democracy
Research Methodology
The project is based on qualitative and quantitative analyses of data derived from focus group interviews (FGI) and an online survey. We are convinced that a mix of these two methods will provide a deep and wide insight into the problem under study. We expect the qualitative analyses of the data derived from FGIs to help us get a detailed picture of political parties (brands) and their adherents (target groups). We expect to answer a range of research questions that would facilitate description of these two groups in terms of brand-client relationship. These findings would be further enriched with the knowledge derived from the survey. Quantitative analyses of the data will allow us to develop mental maps for each political brand and verify the hypotheses concerning the influence of political brands on party support, when controlled for other determinants of vote choice. In particular, we will verify whether key dimensions of political brands, i.e. awareness, strength, favorability, uniqueness and quality, determine the level of brand loyalty expressed in terms of vote choice.
Practical application of results
To the best of our knowledge, so far there have been no studies, which examined political brand influence on vote choice in parliamentary elections in Poland. Our project would be the first attempt of its kind.
The results of the project will certainly contribute to the development of Polish political science. The study will not only enable in depth description of important aspects of the political system, such as political parties and their adherents (which, we believe will go beyond the survey knowledge we currently have), but it will also fill in the gaps in the body of knowledge concerning the link between political parties and their adherents, the political and social processes that lead to the formation of these bonds, and political behavior which is its effect. Overall it will providing a better understanding of the matter.
Furthermore, the project will bring the practical marketing approach related to party brands and their target groups into political science. This approach can be beneficial not only to political scientists, but also to professionals specializing in this field, such as politicians, journalists, marketing specialists, NGO employees, and citizens.
Research Team
Lutostański, Michał Jan
Specialization
socjolog, zajmuje się badaniem młodzieży, subkultur oraz muzyki
First and last name
Michał Jan Lutostański
Academic degree or title
Ph.D.
Ph.D. Michał Jan Lutostańskisocjolog, zajmuje się badaniem młodzieży, subkultur oraz muzyki
Wenzel, Michał
Specialization
sociologist, specializing in methodology of social research, political attitudes and social aspects of mass media
First and last name
Michał Wenzel
Academic degree or title
Ph.D. / Associate Professor
Email
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Discipline
political-science-and-public-administration
Institute
Institute of Social Sciences
Position
profesor uczelni
Role in the Institute
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Role in the Faculty
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Role in the Department
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Role in the Research Center
[]
Ph.D. / Associate Professor Michał Wenzelsociologist, specializing in methodology of social research, political attitudes and social aspects of mass media
Zaremba, Mateusz
Specialization
political scientist
First and last name
Mateusz Zaremba
Academic degree or title
M.A.
Email
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Discipline
political-science-and-public-administration
Role in the Department
[]
Role in the Research Center
[]
M.A. Mateusz Zarembasociologist, specializing in methodology of social research, political attitudes and social aspects of mass media