Exit and Voice: Organizational Loyalty and Dispute Resolution Strategies

This study compares workplace dispute resolution strategies (exit, voice and toleration) in matched pairs of conventional and worker-owned cooperative organizations operating in three industries — coal mining, taxicab driving and organic food distribution. Building on Hirschman's classic exit, voice and loyalty thesis, this research demonstrates how the degree of loyalty that workers hold affects how they approach workplace problems. I find that workers with greater loyalty are more likely to embrace “voice” as a way to address their problems. Although the “exit” patterns do not mirror the classic “exit-voice framework” the data support Hirschman's broader thesis, which incorporates examination of emotional involvement, and entry and exit costs.