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

出于多种原因，各种组织都是社会结构的组成部分。 他们调解公民之间以及公民与国家之间的关系，他们影响社会资本和集体身份的性质，他们构建集体行动。越来越多的组织对技术变革敏感。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作方式。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范围。研究还表明，公共组织的性质在美国已经发生了几十年的大规模变化。特别重要的是，与信任和社会资本的发展有关的各种传统的面对面组织的成员和活力正在丧失。公民的参与越来越多地转向更匿名、更注重利益的群体，据称这些群体对社会资本和社区健康的贡献力较小。这两种趋势现在相互交叉：公共组织的组成是社会结构的组成部分，这是长期的世俗演变，而组织可以做什么以及如何构建组织的技术变化迅速但可能是长期的。本研究通过比较四类组织及其成员沿着几个维度，从他们产生集体行动的能力到他们产生社会信任的能力，以及公民之间的共同目标和共同认同感，来考察这些趋势的交叉点。这些类型的组织是：面向公民之间个人的、基于社区的互动的传统组织（例如美国退伍军人协会、扶轮社）;具有社会政治议程但基本上是匿名成员关系的兴趣导向组织（例如美国退休人员协会、国家教育协会）;在线个人互动团体（例如雅虎团体、Lycos俱乐部）和在线兴趣导向团体（例如MoveOn.org，SaveOurEnvironment.org）。这种双重方法将对每一类中一个组织的深入定性案例研究与对每一类中几个随机选择的组织的合并成员的随机调查相结合。 该项目提出了技术和社会变革的多学科理论，综合了集体行动理论，组织理论，沟通理论和社会资本理论。它探索这一理论的经验，使用两种方法，通常不加入：个人层面的调查研究与统计建模;和组织层面的，定性的案例研究。 除了学术报告和出版物外，项目成果将包括口头和书面报告，以及向公共组织提出的关于在非营利环境中使用信息技术的建议。 此外，这项研究还探讨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.