Success and Failure of Grassroots Initiatives: Stakeholders' Roles and Perceptions - A Case Study of Spielraum für Alle e.V.

Schandra, Lena

4. term

Culture, Communication and Globalization, Master

2018

2018-05-31

134

Denne afhandling undersøger græsrodsinitiativer og hvordan interessenters roller og opfattelser kan påvirke, om sådanne initiativer lykkes gennem inddragelse. Afhandlingen bygger på et enkelt casestudie af Spielraum für Alle e.V. i Innsbruck, Østrig, beskrevet som et Grassroots House. Data blev primært indsamlet via semistrukturerede interviews med interne og eksterne interessenter i februar 2018. Undersøgelsen identificerer tre væsentlige mismatch, der præger organisationens arbejde med interessenter: på individniveau (vision), hvor en central aktørs ambitiøse vision ikke er fuldt delt eller forstået; på gruppeniveau (kultur), hvor forskelle mellem organisationens subkulturer fører til uensartede måder at arbejde på; og på samfundsniveau (image), hvor interessenter har forskellige opfattelser af organisationens image, vision og værdier. Disse forhold knytter sig til organisatorisk identitet, altså hvordan organisationen ser sig selv i forhold til, hvordan andre ser den, og de er mindre belyst i græsrodslitteraturen, som ofte fokuserer på praktiske udfordringer som økonomi. Resultaterne peger på, at initiativtagere bør inddrage interessenter aktivt i at afklare formål og løbende opspore uerkendte mismatch. Fremtidig forskning kan undersøge, om lignende dynamikker findes i græsrodsorganisationer i andre lande.

This thesis examines grassroots initiatives and how stakeholders’ roles and perceptions influence whether such initiatives succeed through engagement. It is based on a single case study of Spielraum für Alle e.V. in Innsbruck, Austria, described as a Grassroots House. Data were primarily collected through semi-structured interviews with internal and external stakeholders in February 2018. The study identifies three major mismatches that shape the organization’s work with stakeholders: at the individual level (vision), where a key actor’s ambitious vision is not fully shared or understood; at the group level (culture), where differences among organizational subcultures lead to inconsistent ways of working; and at the societal level (image), where stakeholders hold divergent views of the organization’s image, vision, and values. These issues relate to organizational identity—that is, how the organization sees itself compared to how others see it—and they are less discussed in existing grassroots literature, which often focuses on practical challenges such as financing. The findings suggest that initiators should engage stakeholders actively to clarify purpose and regularly detect unrecognized mismatches. Future research could explore whether similar dynamics are present in grassroots organizations in other countries.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

grassroot initiatives ; success and failre (factors) ; stakeholders' roles and perceptions ; organizational identity

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