The IJOVA Volume XXX, Number 1


FROM THE EDITOR

In This Issue: Are We Relevant?
... link to pdf

 
FEATURE ARTICLES

Who Lends a Hand to Government? The Impact of Social Capital on Governmental Volunteering.
Min Su
Governmental volunteering has received increased recognition in recent years. Results of the research reported here show the impact of social capital on governmental volunteering. Based on the Texas Adults Survey, four indicators of social capital have been identified—asked to volunteer, non-religious group meeting attendance, children living in household, and norm of trust. These social capital indicators are incorporated in the governmental volunteering model, with control variables such as human capital indicators, working status, religiosity, and demographic factors (age, gender, race, etc.). The results confirm the importance of social capital in explaining governmental volunteering—individuals with greater stocks of social capital are more likely to participate in governmental volunteering. Further, the results also indicate that social capital has different impacts on governmental volunteering and non-governmental volunteering—it plays a more important role in governmental volunteering. Research results suggest that researchers should revisit the conventional views of volunteering and incorporate social capital factors in studies of volunteering. Finally, the results offer practical value to practitioners in volunteer administration, especially practitioners in government volunteer programs—social capital factors could be used to increase volunteer recruitment in public service delivery. ...link to pdf
Key Words: social capital; volunteering; governmental volunteering

Public Service Motivation from the Volunteer Resource Manager Perspective.
Nevbahar Ertas, Ph.D.
Qualitative research on public service motivation (PSM) is rare, and volunteer resource manager perspectives on PSM have not been explored in the research literature, even though volunteer resource managers deal directly with individuals involved in voluntary work that could be expected to be driven by inspiration and motivation. Using data generated from in-person biographical interviews with Birmingham-area volunteer resource managers, the study reported here examined the PSM values of volunteer resource managers and looks at their perspectives on the role of PSM on civic action, recruiting, and maintaining volunteers. The analyses of interview data reveal the critical role of the demand side of volunteering and suggest implications for both researchers and the profession. Increased attention to the quality of engagement for volunteers, and articulating the motivational aspect, may enhance the experiences of volunteers as well as volunteer resource managers, which are both key resources for nonprofit service organizations. .... link to pdf
Key Words:public service motivation, volunteering, volunteer management, non-profits

Community Volunteer Leadership in West Virginia: Key Incentives and Influences that Enhance Involvement
Lisa Kelly Nix, Ph.D.
Many organizations must count on volunteers to provide core services (Clary, Snyder & Ridge, 1992). Since community organizations play a vital role in a community’s quality of life, it is important to learn about community leader characteristics and what incentives and influences motivate them to volunteer. The purpose of the study reported here was to identify incentives and influences that enhance volunteer leader participation in West Virginia communities. The target population consisted of members from the West Virginia Regional Planning and Development Council and the West Virginia Economic Development Council. Findings revealed top incentives and indicate distinctive preference for volunteering in leadership roles. A unique disparity to the national data regarding educational level and amount of hours volunteered was realized. The information from the study provides empirical data that can be used for effective volunteer recruitment practices and guide programming designed to improve job satisfaction of community volunteer leaders. ... link to pdf
Key Words: volunteer leadership, community leadership, leadership motivation

Volunteering Measurement and Management: Evidence from Maryland
Laura Berardi, Ph.D.
Volunteer service is a natural and renewable resource that can be effectively measured and evaluated by organizations that use unpaid workers to perform activities and to execute programs. The researchers examined how and why U.S. nonprofit organizations measure this important resource and determine if that measurement affects the management of volunteer activities and programs. Reported here are the studied cases of four charitable organizations from Maryland with different dimensions, fields, and scope. In the explorative multiple-case study, reported here, each organization confirmed the main hypotheses that the measurement of volunteer service positively impacts both the effectiveness, and the efficiency of volunteer programs and activities. The researchers also consider other characteristics of these organizations that are impacted by measurement activities and other volunteer management practices. The results can be generalized to other nonprofit organizations that have the same structured system of volunteer management, but may exhibit different characteristics in terms of dimension, fields, and/or scope. ... link to pdf
Key Words: volunteer work measurement, accounting, management, nonprofit organizations

Understanding How Age Affects the Relationships Between Well-Known Predictors of Volunteerism and the Duration and Intensity of Volunteering
Jennifer M. Mohorovic, Ph.D. & Elizabeth M. Hill, Ph.D.
Formal volunteering within the context of an organization represents a substantial social and economic contribution to the United States. Volunteerism has been explained by various theories including: functional, behaviorist, exchange, social resources, role identity, sustained volunteerism, and the three-stage model. Because volunteerism spans all ages, a developmental perspective is necessary since age ranges of the volunteers might affect various factors related to volunteer commitment. The study reported here investigated how age affects the relationship between predictors of volunteerism and the duration and intensity of volunteering among a sample of hospital volunteers, ages 18 and older, recruited from hospital volunteer programs of the Metropolitan Detroit area. Participants completed self-report measures assessing demographic characteristics, reasons to volunteer, satisfaction, role identity, and prosocial personality. Results revealed partial support for the hypotheses. Reasons to volunteer were more strongly correlated with intensity of volunteering than duration. Age groups of volunteers significantly differed in the duration of volunteering, the desire to gain career related experience and new learning experiences, and the personality characteristic of helpfulness. Years of education, the desire to gain career related experience, and age groups of volunteers was the most parsimonious model for predicting duration of volunteering. For predicting intensity, years of education, satisfaction, helpfulness, the desire to gain career related experience, age groups, and the interactions between age groups and education and satisfaction was the best model. Thus, volunteerism does appear to be affected by age with older volunteers volunteering for a longer duration than younger volunteers. The relationship between age and intensity of volunteering is mediated by the volunteers’ level of satisfaction and years of education. ... link to pdf
Key Words: volunteer commitment, reasons to volunteer, prosocial personality, age differences, hospital

Leadership, Management Practices, and Volunteer Retention
Edward J. Breslin, DM
This qualitative research reported here delved into 12 hospital volunteers’ perceptions of their lived experiences and their view of how those experiences affected their tendency to continue to come back to work year in and year out. The objective of the study was to arrive at an improved understanding of why the retention rate was much better at the Northwest Florida hospital than it was for volunteers at nonprofits nationally. The researcher used interviews and analyzed data according to a modified van Kaam method. The researchers also identify recommendations for management policies and leadership practices relative to the retention proclivity of volunteers. ... link to pdf
Key Words: retention, volunteers, leadership, satisfaction, engagement

Challenges in Volunteer Resource Management
Margaret Moore & Sarah Jane Rehnborg, Ph.D.
Volunteers represent both an invaluable resource and a unique set of challenges to nonprofit organizations large and small. The study reported here was designed to investigate the top challenges in volunteer resource management as identified by a variety of stakeholders at diverse nonprofit organizations. Identifying meaningful volunteer roles, recruiting a sufficient number of volunteers, and recruiting volunteers with particular skill sets were reported as the three top challenges. Some differences between larger and smaller organizations in terms of both recruitment and management challenges were indicated. In addition, identified challenges varied based on the organizational role of the respondent. ... link to pdf
Key Words: volunteer resource management, executive directors, nonprofit staff, nonprofit management

For complete journal as one pdf document . . . click here