The efficacy of voluntary leadership in environmental collective action

Abstract

Leadership mechanism is a key factor underlying the performance of collective actions. This study for the first time examines the effect of voluntary leadership on collective actions in the context of environmental problems. Two experiments differing in leadership mechanism were designed. 96 subjects joined the experiments and formed into 32 groups in every of the five rounds. Analyses show that subjects are highly committed to environmental collective actions. This commitment does not fade with time in both leadership mechanisms. Voluntary leadership is found a common phenomenon with high frequency. Further, we notice that voluntary and imposed leadership are the same in nudging followers' commitment in environmental collective actions, although voluntary leaders do donate more than imposed leaders. Our study suggests that the seemingly higher efficacy of voluntary leadership is on the burden of voluntary leaders. It is not a good mechanism design when the number of followers increases, not to speak of its higher consumption of resources.