Taking Their Game to the Next Level: Why Members Support Party Digitalization

Abstract

AbstractThe scholarship on party digitalization discusses why, how and with what consequences parties use digitalization. Such a detailed account of the supply side contrasts sharply with the limited information we have about the demand side. We know little about party members' support for digitalization. To address this gap in the literature, our article aims to explain what drives the support for digitalization within political parties. We use individual‐level data from an original survey conducted in March–April 2023 with 2,032 members of the second largest party in Romania. The statistical analysis tests the effects of two main categories of explanations: technology winners and reinforcement hypothesis. We find that those party members who are active and informed about party activities will support party digitalization. The results hold when controlling for technology experience and skills, length of membership, position in the party and age.