Peer influence on protest participation: Communication and trust between co-workers as inhibitors or facilitators of mobilization

Marieke Born; Agnes Akkerman; Kirsten Thommes

doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.11.003

Peer influence on protest participation: Communication and trust between co-workers as inhibitors or facilitators of mobilization

Soc Sci Res. 2016 Mar:56:58-72. doi: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.11.003. Epub 2015 Nov 10.

Authors

Marieke Born¹, Agnes Akkerman², Kirsten Thommes³

Affiliations

¹ Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
² VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: agnes.akkerman@vu.nl.
³ RWTH University, Aachen, Germany.

PMID: 26857172
DOI: 10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.11.003

Abstract

In this article, we investigate how communication and trust networks between employees affect participation in a strike. We analyze whether the strength of network relations is related to congruence in strike behavior using social network data on 59 Dutch workers. We find that private communication networks and trust networks lead to similar strike behavior. This finding indicates that networks not only promote protest mobilization but are also vehicles for demobilization, albeit through different network relations.

Keywords: Communication; Protest imitation; Social networks; Trust.

MeSH terms

Communication*
Employment
Female
Humans
Interpersonal Relations*
Male
Mass Behavior*
Netherlands
Peer Influence*
Refusal to Participate
Strikes, Employee*
Trust*