Dealing with austerity measures within armed forces: The Dutch case |
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Authors: | Igor Petrovic Jacquelien van Stekelenburg Bert Klandermans |
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Affiliation: | Department of Sociology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | This article studies how Dutch military personnel respond to austerity-related discontent. Based on the online survey (N = 579) conducted among military personnel we investigate 4 response strategies to austerity measures applied in the Dutch armed forces: voice (collective protest), exit (leaving the organization), silence (deliberately deciding not to protest), and neglect (engaging in anti-organizational behavior). We focus on how personnel combine these strategies and apply cluster analysis to identify 6 typical response patterns that we label as protesters, escapers, quiescents, conformers, obstructionists and combaters. We investigate how personal characteristics and perception of unique military environment influence the response of military personnel. We conclude that clusters we described are not only distinct in their behavior—their personal characteristics and perceptions differ as well. |
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Keywords: | Austerity discontent protest voice exit silence neglect Netherlands |
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