Who Gets Involved in Collective Action?: Social Psychological Determinants of Individual Participation in Trade Unions

TLDR

Research on social identity and collective action provides the theoretical backdrop for this study. The study investigates which social psychological factors predict willingness to engage in collective action. A survey of 350 trade‑union members measured group identification, collectivist orientation, outgroup stereotyping, perceived intergroup conflict, relative deprivation, and political efficacy, and examined how these factors relate to prospective participation. Regression results show that group identification is the strongest predictor of participation, with collectivist orientation and outgroup stereotyping also significant, and moderation analyses reveal that relative deprivation matters more for strong identifiers while political efficacy is more relevant for weak identifiers.

Abstract

This study examined social psychological factors associated with willingness to participate in collective action. These factors were group identification, collectivist orientation, outgroup stereotyping, perceived intergroup conflict, egoistic and collective relative deprivation, and political efficacy. Three hundred and fifty members of a trade union completed questionnaires where items measured these factors along with their prospective participation in a range of union activities. Regression analyses indicated that the most significant correlate of participation was the strength of the respondent's sense of group identification. Other significant correlates were collectivist orientation and the degree to which the outgroup (management) was perceived in a stereotypical fashion. Further analyses were undertaken to examine the possible moderating effect of group identification on the relationships between independent and dependent variables. These indicated a broadly similar pattern of results for both strong and weak group identifiers though collective relative deprivation appeared to be somewhat more important for strong identifiers and political efficacy somewhat more important for weak identifiers. These findings are discussed in the context of research into social identity and collective action in other settings.