Does work-related multi-locality reduce civic involvement? Evidence for Germany based on quantitative and qualitative data

Abstract

This paper is based on an investigation of the impact of taking up a work-related multi-local lifestyle on civic involvement based on quantitative and qualitative data using a methodological triangulation. Following theoretical considerations based on the civic voluntarismmodel, the resources-centered model, and the “commuter’s strain hypothesis”, a negative influence of the multi-local lifestyle on civic involvement is expected. Periodic presence and absence at the place of origin and destination, as well as associated reduced time and psychological resources, are hypothesized to be the central theoretical mechanisms of influence explaining the negative relationship. The quantitative investigation is based on fixedeffects panel regressions applied to longitudinal data from the Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). The qualitative investigation is based on problem-centred, guided interviews conducted in a case study analysis in the rural district of Diepholz in Lower Saxony, Germany. The quantitative analyses indicate a significant negative effect of multi-locality on involvement and show that the strongest reduction in involvement temporally occurs with the start of multi-local living. The qualitative analyses confirm this finding and show that the postulated theoreticalmechanisms represent a central explanatory factor of the reduced involvement resulting from multi-locality.