Mobilization and participation in trade union action: An expectancy‐value approach*

The mobilization of trade union members to participate in the activities of their union is a complex process of persuading and activating. Curiously, the literature on union participation has paid little attention to this process. In this paper an expectancy‐value theory of willingness to participate in action is presented. Central to this theory is the assumption that the willingness to participate in an activity or action of a trade union is a function of the perceived costs and benefits for participants of involvement in that activity or action. In the light of this theory two kinds of mobilization are distinguished: consensus mobilization and action mobilization. The theory was applied in studying three mobilization campaigns of a Dutch trade union: (a) a campaign concerning an imminent conflict about a planned reorganization, and (b) two campaigns over the annual negotiations for a collective labour agreement. This paper describes the developed theory and uses results from the three studies to test and illustrate it.