Outcomes of the sport event volunteer experience: examining demonstration effects on first-time and returning volunteers

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine if sport event volunteers were inspired by their event experience to volunteer in the future.Design/methodology/approachA postevent questionnaire was administered to 161 professional golf tournament volunteers, in which 93 respondents were identified as first-time volunteers of the event and 68 as returning volunteers. A moderation analysis was conducted to assess if previous event-specific volunteer experience moderated the relationship between volunteers' inspiration and future volunteer intentions.FindingsFirst-time event-specific volunteers were significantly more inspired to volunteer again than returning event-specific volunteers. Findings indicate volunteers can be inspired from their event experience toward future volunteer intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers conceptual understandings and new application of inspiration–behavioral intentions by examining sport events' (in)ability to inspire first-time and returning event volunteers to volunteer in the future. Findings are limited to the sport event volunteers' intention discussion.Practical implicationsThis study demonstrates how event stakeholders can create positive future behavioral intentions for community members through hosting sport events. By positioning first-time event-specific volunteers within roles that can elicit inspiration (e.g. interacting with athletes), event managers can foster stronger future volunteer intentions.Originality/valueThis study extends the understanding of demonstration effects by moving beyond the traditional sport event spectators and sport participation intention foci. It demonstrates that sport events can inspire different spectator groups (i.e. event volunteers) toward different future behavioral intentions (i.e. volunteer intentions). Findings address previous sport event volunteer assumptions regarding intention, inspiration and volunteer segments.

What Predicts the Sport Event Volunteer Experience? Examining Motivation, Satisfaction, Commitment, and Sense of Community

Despite the large body of literature on sport event volunteers, researchers have a poor understanding of the volunteer experience despite studies claiming direct and indirect relationships involving motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community towards the volunteer experience. In fact, most studies fail to statistically measure experience as a dependent variable. As such, the importance of these four antecedents as predictors of the volunteer experience remains assumed and uncertain. The purpose of this study was to empirically test if and how sport event volunteers’ motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community predict their experience. Following the 2019 Osprey Valley Open, 161 volunteers (65% response rate) completed an online self-administered questionnaire. A two-step structural equation model analysis tested the hypothesized linear relationships. Results indicated direct (i.e., motivation and satisfaction) and indirect (i.e., commitment and sense of community) relationships between antecedents and the volunteer experience. Commitment had an indirect relationship to the volunteer experience through motivation’s direct relationship, while the indirect relationship of sense of community occurred through satisfaction’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience. Confirmatory factor analysis also indicated motivation and sense of community had poor factor loadings, while satisfaction and commitment loaded adequately. Moreover, only the egoistic motivation factor was supported in this study motivation’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience. These findings empirically support previous claims for motivation and satisfaction’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience but dispute previous claims of direct relationships involving sense of community and commitment. Contributions include the need to move beyond investigating individual antecedents of the volunteer experience as it requires a multi-faceted analysis due to conceptual interrelationships. EventCopyright © Cognizant Communication Corporation 3MS 20 088 Event Management E-pubmanagers should understand their volunteers’ experience as being complex and develop strategies aimed at each of the four antecedents.

Motivation and Psychological Contract in Sport Event Volunteerism: The Impact of Contract Fulfilment On Satisfaction and Future Behavioral Intention

This study investigated sport event volunteer motivation and psychological contract (PC) with regard to the relationship between PC fulfilment, satisfaction, and future behavioral intention. Motivation-based volunteer subgroups based on cluster analysis were compared regarding their expectations and experiences of PC types as well as their overall satisfaction and future behavioral intention in a pre- and posttest study. The gap between expectations and experiences of PC types (PC fulfilment by gap: PCFg), and second, experience (satisfaction) of PC types (PC fulfilment by experience: PCFe) were tested using regression analysis to investigate the impact of PC fulfilment on satisfaction and future behavioral intention. The analysis was conducted on a sample of 261 sport event volunteers from three sport events in southeast Queensland, Australia. Among this volunteer sample, ideological PC was considered as the most important PC type overall, but different motivations were associated with different PC preferences. Volunteers who had different motivations had varying experiences of PC types, overall satisfaction, and intention to continue volunteering. PCFe was highly related to overall satisfaction and future behavioral intention and was found to be a better predictor of volunteer satisfaction than PCFg. This study provides important theoretical and practical implications for sport event volunteerism approached from the perspective of PC types and motivations.

The Volunteer Experience in a Para-Sport Event: An Autoethnography

Sport event volunteers have predominantly been examined in able-bodied events using quantitative methods. Studies examining the volunteer experience have focused on its relationship with different constructs, resulting in a siloed body of literature in which a holistic understanding of the volunteer experience remains poor. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between key constructs (satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and sense of community) and the first author’s (E.L. Lachance) volunteer experience in a para-sport event. The analysis of the narrative using a volunteer experience conceptual framework composed of the key volunteer constructs identified two themes: (a) the power of sense of community and (b) the volunteer role as a source of dissatisfaction. Contributions include the volunteer experience conceptual framework and the relationships between the four constructs and the volunteer experience. Event managers should implement strategies to create a strong sense of community to enhance their volunteers’ experience.

Factors influencing time allocation of sport event volunteers

Purpose Given the increasing demands placed on a sport event workforce in servicing the needs of spectators, to attract and recruit volunteers to the industry, it is important for sport event managers to know what is driving how much time volunteers allocate to an event. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the individual and macro-level factors influencing the allocation of time to volunteer at sport events. Design/methodology/approach Survey data were collected from volunteers at 25 sport events (n=2,303). Multi-level modelling was used to identify common effects controlling for event differences. Findings Male gender significantly influences time allocated to an event at the individual level. At the macro-level, the number of local inhabitants has a significant negative effect whereas the status of an international event and duration contribute positively to time allocation. Research limitations/implications The results provide clear evidence that macro-level variables can stimulate interest in event volunteering opportunities. Originality/value This paper uses a multi-level approach to assess the influence of micro- and macro-level variables on time allocation by sport event volunteers. Using this approach, event heterogeneity can be controlled.

Event and community involvement of sport event volunteers

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential interrelationship between different types of volunteer involvement (event involvement and community involvement) and their impact on the behavioural intentions of different types of events. Design/methodology/approach By means of a survey, data from an one-off sport event (n=316), including volunteer tourists, and from annual sport events (n=278) in Germany were collected. Structural equation modelling was employed for data analysis. Findings Findings show that event involvement and community involvement are significantly correlated. Both influence future behavioural intentions for one-off events. But only event involvement and not community involvement influences behavioural intentions for annual events. Research limitations/implications The findings are underpinning the rationale of social identity theory from a theoretical perspective. Practical implications Volunteer managers learn that not only the volunteers’ involvement with event organisations, but also with the community (i.e. hosting destination) seems to be a key contributor of behavioural intentions and should therefore be fostered during the recruitment process and prior to the event. Originality/value This study is the first to compare involvement with two objects for different types of events. Therefore, this study adds to the rare literature looking at different event types in which an individual can volunteer.

Exploring experiences and emotions sport event volunteers associate with ‘role exit’

Much research in the past decade has assessed what motivates people to volunteer at sport events. Given that volunteering has become integral to the delivery and staging of sporting events, it is important that research not only considers reasons and motivations for volunteering, but how participants cope and manage once their volunteer journey ends. The paper considers the notion of ‘role exit’ and contributes insight based on interviews with participants after an event to understand their feelings and emotions. The significance of this research is understanding exiting emotions and experiences, but because a lot of emphasis is placed on preparing volunteers ahead of an event, the end of the volunteer journey is often abrupt and therefore left underexplored. To ensure that the needs of contemporary volunteers are adequately managed, it is important to consider how individuals are impacted by volunteering and also how they reflect on experiences afterwards. Three themes that emerge from this study include: (1) sadness and loss; (2) transitioning emotions; and (3) coping and coming to terms. A discussion framing the post-event volunteer as ‘the bereaved’ addresses the need to better manage the final stages of the volunteer journey, which represents a challenge given the liminality of sport event volunteering.