Cultural Differences and Collective Action: A Social Network Perspective
Authored by Hai-hua Hu, Jun Lin, Wentian Cui
Date Published: 2015
DOI: 10.1002/cplx.21515
Sponsors:
Chinese National Natural Science Foundation
Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education of China
Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University
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Model Documentation:
Other Narrative
Mathematical description
Model Code URLs:
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Abstract
This study investigates how cultural differences on the
individualism-collectivism (I-C) dimension of social networks influence
the outcomes of collective action. Evidence shows that I-C values are
indicators of how people construct their social networks and use
strong/weak ties as a behavioral reference. Specifically, when compared
with individualists, collectivists tend to hold larger strong-tie
networks and endow strong ties with greater interpersonal influence.
Results obtained from agent-based modeling indicate that individualistic
cultures are more effective at propagating collective action when one of
the two following conditions is met: (1) people have a strong motivation
to participate and (2) the connectivity of the social system is low. In
contrast, spread of collective action in collectivistic cultures is more
effective when motivation is not strong and the connectivity of the
social system is high. These findings call for a serious consideration
of the role of culture in collective action. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 20: 68-77, 2015
Tags
Communication
Heterogeneity
mobilization
movements
Participation
Recruitment
United-states
Ties
Engagement
Individualism