Emergency-Service Workers’ Will to Defend in Extreme Crises: Evidence from a Factorial Experiment

This study investigates the behavioral and attitudinal factors influencing emergency-service workers’ willingness to defend and respond during extreme crisis situations within Norway’s total defense framework. The article addresses two core questions: How do organizational recognition and public support influence emergency-service workers’ willingness to perform essential duties in crises, contributing to national resilience and a broader sense of societyal responsibility? How do differences between crisis and war scenarios impact their sense of duty, public service commitment, and behavioral responses? These questions are explored using a 2x3x3 factorial survey experiment with a between-subject design, aiming to reduce social desirability bias. The sample will include approximately 35,644 emergency-service workers across Northern and Eastern Norway, such as Home Guard soldiers, police officers, workers within transportation, logistics, construction, industry, and security. To enhance the realism of the scenarios, the experiment employs distinct crisis and war vignettes with corresponding image collages. The study’s dependent variable, will to defend, is measured through items capturing in-role performance (IRP) (Turnley et al., 2003; Williams & Anderson, 1991), willingness to go to work (WTW) (Sørensen et al., 2024), and willingness to respond to the situation (WTR) (Choi et al., 2022). These items are randomized to mitigate response bias. A pilot factor analysis will be conducted in early December with an additional sample of 3,000 respondents to validate the dependent variable. By examining how crises impact emergency workers’ sense of duty and commitment to societal responsibility, this research contributes to broader discussions about the interplay between national culture, political culture, and societal cohesion in times of crisis. Expected results aim to shed light on how public support and organizational recognition influence emergency-service workers’ motivation and duty under pressure, offering insights into crisis management and public management policies that strengthen public service engagement and reinforce commitment to the common good. Practical recommendations will focus on improving crisis preparedness, workforce resilience, and organizational policies in both public and private sectors. Pre-registration is planned on the Open Science Framework in November. - Choi, J., Lee, S., & Choi, H. (2022). The Influence of Knowledge, Trust, and Perceived Risk on Firefighters’ Preparedness and Willingness to Respond to Nuclear Emergencies: The Case of South Korea. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science/International journal of disaster risk science, 13(4), 536-548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-022-00426-1 - Sørensen, J. L., Mortelmans, L., Gray, L., Khorram‐Manesh, A., Hertelendy, A. J., Stray, K. N., Kupietz, K., Peyravi, M. R., Ranse, J., & Achour, N. (2024). “Fight or flight”—A study of frontline emergency response workforce's perceived knowledge, and motivation to work during hazards. Risk, hazards & crisis in public policy. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12314 - Turnley, W. H., Bolino, M. C., Lester, S. W., & Bloodgood, J. M. (2003). The Impact of Psychological Contract Fulfillment on the Performance of In-Role and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors. Journal of management, 29(2), 187-206. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-2063(02)00214-3 - Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment as Predictors of Organizational Citizenship and In-Role Behaviors. Journal of management, 17(3), 601-617. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700305