Why do workers (sometimes) act collectively? Collective instrumentalism and conditions for workers’ collective action 

The motivation behind collective action remains a key question in much sociological literature, and one very important venue for scrutinising this inquiry is the labour market and workers’ collective action. In this paper I discuss the different motivations driving collective action among workers, in particularly instrumental versus norm-driven motivations for collective action. Through a theoretical and conceptual discussion, I arrive at the argument that the vast majority of workers are mainly driven, at least to some extent by instrumental motivations – that is aiming to achieve certain outcomes. Yet perhaps the instrumental versus normative dimensions is better understood as a dynamic continuum rather than binary, static categories. I then discuss some pre-conditions for collective action that may facilitate one or the other type of collective action. Finally, I discuss the implications of the workers’ instrumental approach for scholarly inquiry