Intraorganizational Respect and Organizational Participation: The Mediating Role of Collective Identity

Abstract

A panel study with two points of measurement throughout a four-month interval (N = 189) in the context of a socio-political organization was conducted to examine the role of collective identity in mediating the relationship between perceived respect and organizational participation. Path analyses confirmed that the effect of perceived respect at Time 1 on organizational participation at Time 2 was fully mediated by the cognitive component of collective identity (`importance-to-identity'). Interestingly, although perceived respect at Time 1 also had a significant effect on the evaluative component of collective identity (`private collective self-esteem'), this component was not involved in the mediation. Including perceived individual benefits as statistical controls in the model did not change this picture. In fact, with regard to the link between perceived benefits and participation results also point to a mediating role of the cognitive component of collective identity. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.