Ride with pride: communication, commitment, and participation in association life

Abstract

Digitalization has changed the possibilities to influence and communicate both at work and in leisure time. With new opportunities and challenges for influence, it is timely to study how communication could be utilized to serve traditional association activities. This study examines participation and commitment to association activities and how they can be influenced by means of communication. Issues related to participation and communication have been discussed in studies and literature on organizational communication. However, there has been less research related to Finnish association activities and communication in recent years. The aim of the study was to find out how communication could be used to increase participation and commitment. At the same time, the effect of professional background in creating commitment and participatory communication were explored. The research object was Blue Knights Finland 1 ry, which is a motorcycle club for law enforcement authorities in Finland. In this qualitative study, a semi-structured interview was used as the method. By interviewing members of the association, their views, and experiences regarding participation in the association's activities, commitment and communication were examined. Study results show that participation has a significant influence on the experience of commitment. However, the feeling of commitment can’t be explained only with the amount of concrete input in club’s actions. Commitment is also significantly impacted by the experience of togetherness and like-mindedness as well as pride in being a member of the association. The professional background of law enforcement officials has a role in the communication behavior of individuals, which was reflected, for example, in consideration and caution in operating on social media. Professional identity also proved to be a significant factor underlying the cohesion experienced by the members.