Can You Hear Me Now? The Effect of Organizational Identification and Cognitive Dissonance On The Relationship Between Employee Propensity For Activism and Employee Insider Activism

This study examines the relationship between propensity for social activism and employee insider activism. We propose a three-way interaction where the moderating role of organizational identification moderates employee insider activism in a three-way interaction with cognitive dissonance. Some employees are inclined towards social activism and carry this proclivity into their organization. The idea is that when they are highly identified with their organization, they may experience cognitive dissonance if their employer acts in a manner inconsistent with espoused values, placing the employee and employer at odds. Specifically, we argue that high organizational identification combined with high organizational dissonance will strengthen the relationship between an employee’s propensity for social activism and insider activism. This unstudied relationship has important implications for activism and social movement literatures.