Digital Action Repertoires and Transforming a Social Movement Organization

Author List: Sel, Lisen; Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L.;
MIS Quarterly, 2016, Volume 40, Issue 2, Page 331-352.
An emerging research agenda focuses on social media's influence on political activism. Specific attention has recently been paid to digital social movement organizing and action repertoire development. The literature acknowledges the changing face of activism at the movement level, but little is known about the relationship between social movement organizations (SMOs) and digital action repertoires. Understanding this relationship is critical because strong adherence to values is at the heart of establishing action repertoires with legitimacy and persistence. In this paper, we rely on a two-year longitudinal study of the Swedish affiliate of Amnesty International. We examine the transformation in engagement and interaction that followed the organization's introduction of new action repertoires. Drawing on resource mobilization theory and the collective action space model, we elaborate how new action repertoires both stabilized and challenged the values of the SMO, as well as gradually broadened the interactions of supporters and deepened their modes of engagement. We offer a value-based model on the antecedents and effects of new action repertoires from the SMO perspective. The empirical findings and the model build new theory on social media and digital activism at the organizational level, complementing the predominant movement level research in the extant literature.
Keywords: Collaboration; organization; societal change; case study; networks and communities; digital activism
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#104 0.239 action research engagement principles model literature actions focus provides developed process emerging establish field build guidance known project elements insights
#116 0.128 research study influence effects literature theoretical use understanding theory using impact behavior insights examine influences mechanisms specifically context perspective findings
#293 0.119 values culture relationship paper proposes mixed responsiveness revealed specific considers deployment results fragmentation simultaneously challenges explain attribute building indicated obtain
#80 0.105 organizations new information technology develop environment challenges core competencies management environmental technologies development emerging opportunities levels based change business technical
#178 0.087 digital divide use access artifacts internet inequality libraries shift library increasingly everyday societies understand world initiative initiatives embedded community dimensions
#35 0.079 technology organizational information organizations organization new work perspective innovation processes used technological understanding technologies transformation consequences perspectives use administrative economic
#282 0.070 power perspective process study rational political perspectives politics theoretical longitudinal case social rationality formation construction shows multiple instead understanding fact
#234 0.057 social networks influence presence interactions network media networking diffusion implications individuals people results exchange paper sites evidence self-disclosure important examine