Table of Content
Introduction
1
Chapter 1
7
An Introduction to Collective Actions: Conceptualizations, Predictors, and Digital Practices
Definition and Scope 9
Predictors of Collective Actions 13
Collective Actions in the Internet Age 20
Internet Use and Offline Collective Actions 20
The Internet as a Platform for Online Collective Actions 22
The Stepping Stone Hypothesis 23
The Substitute Hypothesis 25
Conclusions and Empirical Directions 28
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 2
31
Stepping Stone or Substitute? The Impact of Low-threshold Online Collective Actions on Offline Participation
The Mobilizing Effect of Low-threshold Online Collective Actions 34
The Foreclosing Effect of Low-threshold Online Collective Actions 38
Study 1 40
Study 2 54
General Discussion 64
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 3
69
It's More than Just a Click! The Substitute Effect of Expressive Low-threshold Online Collective Actions
The Homeostasis Principle and Substitute Actions 72
Group-enhancement 75
Social Identity Consolidation 77
Study 3 79
Study 4 90
Table of Content
Chapter 4
99
I am, Who I am: Identifiability as a Boundary Condition of the Demobilizing
Effect of Expressive Low-threshold Online Collective Actions
The SIDE Model 103
The Cognitive Effect of SIDE 105
The Strategic Effect of SIDE 106
The Interaction of the Cognitive and Strategic Effect of SIDE 108
Study 5a 109
Study 5b 119
Trust and Reciprocity 126
Developing Trust on the Internet 129
Study 6 130
General Discussion 143
________________________________________________________________________
Chapter 5
147
General Discussion: Implications and Perspectives
Theoretical Contributions 152
Slacktivism 152
Collective Actions 156
Directions for Future Research 161
Practical Implications 163
________________________________________________________________________
References 167
Appendices 201
Abstract
Click to Act?
The (De)Mobilizing Effect of Expressive Low-threshold Online Collective Actions: Motivational Underpinnings and Contextual Boundaries
Previous research highlighted that Internet use, in particular online information retrieval and discussions, can facilitate offline collective actions (Boulianne, 2009). Recently, however, the Internet also has been criticized for encouraging cost and low-risk online collective actions—slacktivism—that may have detrimental consequences for groups that aim to achieve a collective purpose (Gladwell, 2010). More precisely, it is argued that actions such as “liking” Facebook pages or posting ingroup-endorsing comments online make users instantly feel good, satisfy their need to act, and derail participation in offline collective actions (Lee & Hsieh, 2013; Morozov, 2009).
