How Radical Is Too Radical? Public Perception of Taiwanese Environmental Nonprofit Organizations’ Activism*

Abstract

Objective This study sought answers to two important unasked questions: (1) How does the Taiwanese public perceive different types of environmental activism initiated by environmental nonprofit organizations (ENPOs)? And (2) How does culture influence these perceptions? Methods This study utilized cultural theory (CT) to develop hypotheses to test data collected through an online survey in Taiwan. Results The evidence confirms what CT predicted: egalitarians tended to consider protest‐based environmental activities as effective and acceptable, while individualists tended to have negative thoughts about the effectiveness and acceptance of protest‐based activities. Conclusion This study found that CT can also be helpful in studying environmental activism, especially in countries, like Taiwan, where ideological lines and partisan differences on environmental issues are not clear. Moreover, compared to conventional partisan and ideological explanations, CT better explains the determinants of public perceptions regarding environmental activities.