Tilburg University

About: Tilburg University is a education organization based out in Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Anxiety. The organization has 5550 authors who have published 22330 publications receiving 791335 citations.

Griffins or Chameleons? Hybridity as a Permanent and Inevitable Characteristic of the Third Sector

Abstract: The term “third sector” is increasingly used, but it is also increasingly difficult to define. It is characterized by fragmentation, fuzziness, and constant change. Furthermore, the bordering domains of community, market, and state are equally difficult to define and are becoming more blurred. One may have to accept that hybridity and change are permanent features of the organizations and arrangements involved. They could be classified not with reference to the structural characteristics of abstract domains but on the basis of how they cope with conditions of hybridity and change. The search for a valid empirical definition of the third sector, however modestly ambitious, must focus on the fringes of the domain where the “hard cases” can be found—the phenomena that are most difficult to identify and therefore most likely to reveal what is essential to the different domains.

“Never eat in that restaurant, I did!”: Exploring why people engage in negative word‐of‐mouth communication

Abstract: What do consumers want to achieve when they engage in negative word-of-mouth communication (N-WOM)? Two studies explore this question and reveal that consumers pursue specific goals when engaging in N-WOM and that these goals systematically differ between the specific negative emotions that are experienced. For example, the results reveal that consumers who experience anger engage in N-WOM to vent feelings or to take revenge. However, disappointed consumers engage in N-WOM to warn others, and consumers who experience regret communicate with others to strengthen social bonds or to warn them. This reveals the functionality of specific emotions to N-WOM, and how goals for N-WOM are associated with these emotions. This demonstrates that rather than being uniform, the content and implications of N-WOM are contingent on the specific emotions that consumers experience.

Examining Citizen Participation: Local Participatory Policy Making and Democracy

Abstract: Citizen participation is usually seen as a vital aspect of democracy. Many theorists claim that citizen participation has positive effects on the quality of democracy. This article examines the probability of these claims for local participatory policymaking projects in two municipalities in the Netherlands. The article focuses on the relations between citizens and government from a citizens' perspective. The findings show that the role of citizens in these projects is limited, serving mainly to provide information on the basis of which the government then makes decisions. Nevertheless, the article argues that citizen involvement has a number of positive effects on democracy: not only do people consequently feel more responsibility for public matters, it increases public engagement, encourages people to listen to a diversity of opinions, and contributes to a higher degree of legitimacy of decisions. One negative effect is that not all relevant groups and interests are represented. The article con...