Technological Change and Collective Association: Changing Relationships Among Technology, Organizations, Society, and the Citizenry

出于许多原因，各种组织是社会结构不可或缺的一部分。它们调解公民之间以及公民与国家之间的关系，影响社会资本的性质和集体身份，并构建集体行动。组织对技术变革越来越敏感。本研究的主题是技术、组织变革和社会变革之间的关系。研究已经表明，技术可以影响组织的运营方式。关键信息技术影响组织结构、战略和边界，以及它们的资源需求和覆盖范围。研究还表明，几十年来，美国公共组织的性质一直在发生大规模变化。尤其重要的是，与发展信任和社会资本相关的一系列传统面对面组织失去了成员资格和活力。公民的参与越来越多地转向更匿名的、以利益为导向的团体，据称这些团体对社会资本和社区健康的贡献率较低。这两个趋势现在相交：公共组织的组成是社会结构不可或缺的长期长期演变，以及组织可以做什么和如何构建的快速但可能是长期的技术变革。这项研究通过比较四类组织及其成员在几个维度上的能力，从它们产生集体行动的能力，到它们产生社会信任的能力，以及公民之间的共同目的感和共同认同感，来审查这些趋势的交集。这些类别的组织是：面向公民之间以个人、社区为基础的互动的传统组织(例如，美国军团、扶轮社)；具有社会政治议程但基本上具有匿名成员关系的以利益为导向的组织(例如，AARP、国家教育协会)；在线个人互动小组(例如，雅虎小组、Lycos俱乐部)和面向在线兴趣的小组(例如，MoveOn.org、SaveOurEnvironment ment.org)。这种双重方法将每个班级中一个组织的深入定性案例研究与对每个班级中随机选择的几个组织的联合成员资格的随机调查合并在一起。该项目提出了一个关于技术和社会变革的多学科理论，该理论综合了集体行动理论、组织理论、传播理论和社会资本理论。它使用了两种通常不结合的方法，对这一理论进行了实证探索：个人层面的调查研究和统计建模；以及组织层面的定性案例研究。除了学术报告和出版物外，项目成果还将包括口头和书面报告以及向公共组织提出关于在非营利性环境中使用信息技术的建议。此外，这项研究还考察了组织和公共生活中的社会多样性问题，研究结果可能对扩大组织的吸引力有价值。最后，该项目将促进研究生的培训，并将有助于加州大学圣巴巴拉分校的几个研究生课程的实质内容。

Organizations of various kinds are integral to the fabric of society, for many reasons. They mediate relationships among citizens and between citizens and the state, they influence the nature of social capital and collective identities, and they structure collective action. Increasingly, organizations are sensitive to technological change. The subject of this study is relationships among technology, organizational change, and societal change. Research has already shown that technology can influence how organizations operate. Key information technologies affect organizational structure, strategy, and boundaries as well as their resource requirements and reach. Research has also shown that large-scale changes in the character of public organizations have been underway for decades in the U.S. Of particular importance is a loss of membership and vitality in a wide array of traditional, face-to-face organizations that are associated with the development of trust and social capital. Citizens' engagement has increasingly shifted to more anonymous, interest-oriented groups alleged to be less powerful contributors to social capital and community health. These two trends now intersect: long-term secular evolution in the composition of public organizations that are so integral to the structure of society, and rapid but likely long-lived technological changes in what organizations can do and how they are structured. This study examines the intersection of these trends, by comparing four classes of organizations and their members along several dimensions, from their capacity to generate collective action to their ability to generate social trust and a sense of shared purpose and common identification among citizens. These classes of organizations are: traditional organizations oriented toward personal, community-based interaction among citizens (e.g. American Legion, Rotary Club); interest oriented organizations with socio-political agendas but largely anonymous membership relationships (e.g. AARP, National Education Association); online personal-interaction groups (e.g. Yahoo Groups, Lycos Clubs) and online interest-oriented groups (e.g., MoveOn.org, SaveOurEnvironment.org). The twofold methodology merges in-depth qualitative case studies of one organization in each class with randomized surveys of pooled memberships of several randomly chosen organizations in each class. The project advances a multidisciplinary theory of technology and social change that synthesizes collective action theory, organization theories, communication theory, and social capital theory. It explores this theory empirically, using two methodologies that are typically not joined: individual-level survey research with statistical modeling; and organization-level, qualitative case-study research. Besides scholarly presentations and publications, project results will include oral and written reports and recommendations to public organizations about the use of information technology in non-profit settings. In addition, this research examines questions of social diversity in organizations and public life, and findings may be of value in the broadening of organizations' appeal. Finally, the project will advance the training of graduate students and will contribute to the substance of several graduate courses at UC Santa Barbara.