Reconceptualizing Collective Action in the Contemporary Media Environment

Abstract

Collective action theory, which is widely applied to explain human phenomena in which public goods are at stake, traditionally rests on at least two main tenets: that individuals confront discrete decisions about free riding and that formal organization is central to locating and contacting potential participants in collective action, motivating them, and coordinating their actions. Recent uses of technologies of information and communication for collective action appear in some instances to violate these two tenets. In order to explain these, we reconceptualize collective action as a phenomenon of boundary crossing between private and public domains. We show how a reconceptualized theory of collective action can better account for certain contemporary phenomena, and we situate traditional collective action theory as a special case of our expanded theory.

The Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Managing High Arctic Tourism Sites: A Collective Action Perspective

“…By providing alternative tools to those introduced by governmental authorities, AECO, as a network of resource users, partially takes over responsibilities of tourism governance and in-situ management [28] and may even be more effective than the government in managing tourism sites. In our case, the introduction of ICT in support of collective action blurs the boundary between the public and private realm [43] by enabling non-governmental organizations, at least partially, to replace government functions with self-regulation.…”

“…For actors performing collective action, transparency, communication and coordination are especially crucial [16]. As challenges for collective action may lie in communication and coordination between individuals [43], actors often establish formalized networks to pursue such action [16].…”

“…Technology, in general, includes both software, such as processes and methods, as well as hardware [48]. ICT relates mostly, but not exclusively, to the Internet, databases and communication devices [43].…”

“…ICT changes communication dynamics and thereby has the potential to overcome collective action challenges such as free riding [16] or problems of monitoring and coordination [43]. However, it can also cause problems, for example, by making communication more difficult or increasing the relative benefits of free riding [21].…”

“…However, it can also cause problems, for example, by making communication more difficult or increasing the relative benefits of free riding [21]. Ongoing debates on how ICT may change the premises of collective action provide evidence of both the success and failure of ICT use in collective efforts [43,49]. However, to date, we lack data on how ICT influences collective action.…”