The Route to Activism is through Experience: Contributor Mobilization in Interest Groups

Abstract

Why members are organizational activists has received little attention, despite its obvious importance for many associations. In this analysis, a theory of experiential search is applied to the activist decision calculus of Common Cause members. Most such volunteers join an organization as. members of the rank and file, learn about the group and its operations, and then decide to become activists. They are largely motivated by what they learn about those benefits that accrue exclusively to activists. Their actions also may suggest a tendency toward organizational oligarchy-but one that is strongly tempered by the presence of other factors shaping the conditional decision calculus.

Files

Additional details