MANAGING MEMBERSHIPS: PARTICIPATION AND INCLUSION IN A POLITICAL PARTY SETTING Susan Diana Granik Submitted for the degree of PhD Department of Industrial Relations London School of Economic and Political Science 2003 UMI Number: U615842 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615842 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 7 m s F “Sty/ loiaotb ABSTRACT This thesis explores whether the experience of political party membership can be enhanced for individual members whilst, at the same time, parties can increase membership productivity. This exploration is conducted via a central hypothesis: “Satisfaction with the experience of membership is a stronger predictor of commitment to a political party than partisanship.” An interdisciplinary approach drawing on marketing, nonprofit studies, organizational behaviour and political science is used to identify appropriate analytical frameworks for testing this hypothesis. A questionnaire survey of 1,849 members of a political party, Plaid Cymru The Party of Wales, indicated that, in terms of behavioural commitment, one partisanship variable - values motivations — predicted whether members took part in any one activity. But two satisfaction variables — socialization and job satisfaction — predicted the numbers and types of activities in which members participated. Job satisfaction was also found to predict the making of donations. In respect of attitudinal commitment, more relationships were observed with partisanship variables than with satisfaction variables. The experience of membership was found to differ between demographic groups of members. linguistic and membership density groups showed differing levels of overall satisfaction, gender groups showed differing levels of participation. The less affluent and less well-educated members of Plaid Cymru benefited disproportionately more from their membership than other groups; whilst middle-aged, affluent members contributed more to the party than they appeared to receive. The appropriateness of using communications tools for membership management is discussed. Specific communications strategies to aid recruitment, socialize members, raise political efficacy levels, and generate increased revenues are described. It is argued that these communications strategies will simultaneously deliver the benefits that members want and increase their propensity to participate. The actions that political parties can take towards improving the experience of membership and the potential management implications of these actions are described. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Page 14 CHAPTER 1 - LITERATURE REVIEW 17 Introduction 17 Section 1.1 — The research hypothesis and key theoretical concepts 18 1.1.1 The central research hypothesis 18 1.1.2 What motivates action - organizational commitment 20 1.1.3 What motivates action — incentives theory 21 Section 1.2 - Activism: the political science literature 22 1.2.1 Introduction 22 1.2.2 May’s Law 22 1.2.3 Rational choice theory and the role of selective incentives 23 Section 1.3 — Paying to work: the marketing literature 30 1.3.1 Introduction 30 1.3.2 The applicability of marketing theories to political party members 30 1.3.3 Competing marketing paradigms 32 1.3.4 Membership marketing and services marketing 34 1.3.5 The implications of marketing theories for exploring the research 35 hypothesis 1.3.6 Summary, and discussion of other marketing literatures 36 Section 1.4 - Working for “nothing” - the nonprofit literature 38 1.4.1 Introduction 38 1.4.2 Trade union studies 39 1.4.3 Public interest group studies 41 1.4.4 Volunteer studies 43 Section 1.5 — Working for the party: the organizational behaviour literature 46 1.5.1 Introduction 46 1.5.2 Socialization 46 1.5.3 Organizational commitment 47 1.5.4 Job satisfaction 48 Section 1.6 - Concluding remarks 49 CHAPTER 2 - METHODOLOGY 51 Introduction 51 Section 2.1 - Securing access 51 2.1.1 Introduction 51 2.1.2 The original scope of this research 51 2.1.3 Selection rationale 52 2.1.4 Process of contact 52 2.1.5 Securing agreement 52 2.1.6 The research setting, and implications for research conduct 53 Section 2.2 - Compiling the research instrument 56 2.2.1 Introduction 56 2.2.2 Selection of research instrument 57 2.2.3 Questionnaire contents 59 2.2.4 Questionnaire design issues 64 3 Section 2.3 - Questionnaire implementation Page 67 2.3.1 Introduction 67 2.3.2 Sampling 67 2.3.3 The pilot survey 68 2.3.4 Modifying the research instrument 70 2.3.5 Implementing the main questionnaire 71 Section 2.4 - Analysis of response 72 2.4.1 Introduction 72 2.4.2 Response rates 72 2.4.3 Initial analysis of survey returns 74 2.4.4 Statistical techniques used for analysis 76 2.4.5 The major measurement scales: internal consistency and new subscales 78 Section 2.5 - Concluding remarks 81 CHAPTER 3 - SATISFACTION. PARTISANSHIP AND FIVE KEY 82 BEHAVIOURS Introduction 82 Section 3.1 — Participation and non-participation 85 3.1.1 Introduction 85 3.1.2 The difference between participation and non-participation 86 3.1.3 A brief history of time 88 3.1.4 Discussion of findings 88 Section 3.2 - Numbers of activities 89 3.2.1 Introduction 89 3.2.2 Overall number of activities 90 3.2.3 Type of party activities 93 3.2.4 Discussion of findings 100 Section 3.3 - Donation and subscription behaviour 102 3.3.1 Introduction 102 3.3.2 The decision to donate to Plaid Cymru 103 3.3.3 Deciding what to give 107 3.3.4 Holding a current subscription 109 3.3.5 Discussion of findings 111 Section 3.4 - Concluding remarks 112 CHAPTER 4 - DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION IN A POLITICAL 115 PARTY SETTING Section 4.1 - Introduction 115 4.1.1 Linguistic groups in Plaid Cymru: the birth of a party 115 4.1.2 Geographic groups in Plaid Cymru: location, location and location 116 4.1.3 Gender groups: Plaid Cymru, the party of males 117 Section 4.2 - Attitudinal commitment 118 4.2.1 Introduction 118 4.2.2 The antecedents of affective commitment in a political party setting 119 4.2.3 The antecedents of continuance commitment in a political party 123 setting 4.2.4 The antecedents of normative commitment in a political party setting 126 4.2.5 Discussion of findings 128 4 Section 4.3 - Language and regional differences in Plaid Cvmru Page 130 4.3.1 Introduction 130 4.3.2 Language and membership density joining reasons and expectations 131 4.3.3 Language and membership density and the experience and benefits of 131 membership Section 4.4 - Gender and participation in Plaid Cymru 134 4.4.1 Introduction 134 4.4.2 Gender and membership behaviour in Plaid Cymru 135 4.4.3 Why is there a gender out-group in Plaid Cymru? 137 Section 4.5 — Concluding remarks 139 CHAPTER 5 - WHO BENEFITS FROM POLITICAL PARTY 143 MEMBERSHIP? Introduction 143 Section 5.1 — Who benefits Plaid Cvmru? 144 5.1.1 Age, education and income groups in Plaid Cymru 144 5.1.2 Who is active in Plaid Cymru? 144 5.1.3 Who donates to Plaid Cymru? 146 5.1.4 Who stays in Plaid Cymru? 147 5.1.5 Discussion of findings 148 Section 5.2 — What are the benefits of membership? 149 5.2.1 Hypothesising the benefits of membership 149 5.2.2 Purposive benefits of membership 150 5.2.3 Solidary benefits of membership 151 5.2.4 Benefits to members - discussion and conclusions 156 Section 5.3 — Who benefits from political party membership? 158 5.3.1 Mapping the benefits of political party membership 158 5.3.2 Features of the benefit matrix 159 5.3.3 Social inclusion in a political party setting: is it possible and is it 162 worthwhile? CHAPTER 6 - MORE MEMBERS. MORE WORK AND MORE 165 MONEY: COMMUNICATIONS MANAGEMENT IN A POLITICAL PARTY ENVIRONMENT Introduction 165 Section 6.1 - Communications as management tools 165 6.1.1 Organizational communication - management functions and forms 165 6.1.2 Communication in a political party context — the state of current 166 research 6.1.3 Why use communications tools for membership management? 168 Section 6.2 - Communications tools for recruitment 169 6.2.1 Introduction 169 6.2.2 “Describing the job”: recruitment strategies 170 6.2.3 Finding the people 173 Section 6.3 - Communications tools for socialization 175 6.3.1 Introduction 175 6.3.2 The content of party socialization messages 176 6.3.3 Dimensions of party sociali2ation 178 6.3.4 The management implications of socialization 179 5 Section 6.4 — Communications tools for increasing efficacy Page 180 6.4.1 Introduction 180 6.4.2 Political parties and political education 181 6.4.3 The scope of political efficacy training 182 6.4.4 Potential benefits and drawbacks of communication through 184 education Section 6.5 - Communications tools for revenue generation 185 6.5.1 Introduction 185 6.5.2 Membership reactions to commercial activities — empirical evidence 186 6.5.3 Selecting a portfolio of commercial activities 187 6.5.4 The advantages and disadvantages of policy/benefit congruent 189 commercial activities Section 6.6 — Concluding remarks 190 CHAPTER 7 - THE ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION OF THIS THESIS 192 Introduction 192 Section