Explaining the Use of Influence Tactics to Achieve Intraorganizational Collective Action Around Local Sustainability

Abstract

This research examines how actors responsible for leading organization‐wide efforts use “influence tactics” in pursuit of intraorganizational, or functional, collective action. We draw from intraorganizational influence theory and propose a revised taxonomy of tactics that vary along two dimensions: coerciveness (soft and hard) and orientation (relational and rational). We test factors associated with their use in the context of municipal sustainability, an objective that requires input from multiple distinct units for which it is not a core mission. Analysis of a sample of over 500 United States cities shows that the hard–rational approach of citing formally adopted ordinances or plans in an attempt to compel participation was the most frequently used tactic. The results of a multivariate probit regression further suggest that features of city governments' organizational structure and the support received from elected officials are associated with the use of different influence tactics to achieve collective action around sustainability initiatives.