THE ROLE OF COMMITMENT IN COLLECTIVE ACTION - COMPARING THE ORGANIZATIONAL-BEHAVIOR AND RATIONAL CHOICE PERSPECTIVES

What is the role of commitment in collective action? Peter J. Robertso n and Shui-Yan Tang examine how this question is addressed from two ma jor theoretic perspectives-organizational behavior and rational choice . The two perspectives differ in the way they define the concept of co mmitment and in their foci and assumptions regarding the role of commi tment in collective action. Despite these differences, both perspectiv es emphasize the importance of informal structures and mechanisms for generating and maintaining commitment. Robertson and Tang compare the two perspectives with respect to three general strategies-social proce sses, leadership, and structural design-for fostering commitment in or ganizational settings. These ideas are then used to analyze the role o f commitment in school-based management. The authors conclude by discu ssing the relative merits of the two theoretical perspectives and by i dentifying several research questions derived from their comparison.