A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability

Stirling, CM; Kilpatrick, Sue; Orpin, P

doi:10.1080/13678868.2011.585066

Cited by 64 publications

(70 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…For instance, Cnaan and Cascio (1998) found that volunteers in a human services organization in the US dedicated more volunteering hours when provided with free medical services and free meals. Similarly, Stirling et al (2011) found that not paying volunteers out of pocket expenses for meals, gas or transport was negatively associated with volunteer retention. Carpenter and Myers (2010) found that firefighters who were provided with a small stipend had increasing call response (higher performance), however, for firefighters who were concerned with their personal image, this effect had a zero net effect, suggesting that monetary rewards can discourage prosocial behavior among those who care about being perceived as altruistic by others.…”

Section: Motivation-enhancing Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…Indeed, personal and public recognition of volunteering has been empirically linked to positive outcomes for the volunteer and nonprofit organization among older adult volunteers in human services organizations (Tang et al, 2009), top internet sites' contributors, but not lower-level contributors (Restivo & van de Rijt, 2014), and a range of non-profits in the art, environment, community, welfare, health, youth, emergency services, religion and other sectors (Stirling, Kilpatrick, & Orpin, 2011). In addition to the recognition of their contributions, research has also found that event volunteers in the UK are motivated by the quality of interpersonal relationships and clear communication of what is expected of them (Nichols & Ojala, 2009).…”

Section: Motivation-enhancing Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research has highlighted that volunteers are demotivated by bureaucratic, transactional approaches and this is particularly important in light of the current operating environment of non-profit organizations (Stirling et al, 2011). Pressures to promote management accountability have inundated the day-to-day management of non-profit organizations (Cunningham, 2010;Cunningham & James, 2009), and therefore there is a need for studies exploring how HR practices can be designed to create a balance between management control and volunteer autonomy.…”

Section: Striking a Balance Between Management And Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

Alfes

Antunes

Shantz

2016

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

106

104

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There is an increasing interest from scholars and practitioners in understanding how nonprofit organizations can design and implement human resources (HR) practices to enhance desirable volunteer attitudes and behaviors. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of existing studies on the relationship between HR practices and volunteering outcomes. We use the ability-motivation-opportunity model (AMO) as a guiding framework to systematically integrate current knowledge on this topic. We identify gaps in existing research and offer detailed suggestions on how scholars can further enhance knowledge on how HR practices can lead to beneficial outcomes for both volunteers and non-profit organizations.

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Section: Motivation-enhancing Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Motivation-enhancing Hr Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Striking a Balance Between Management And Flexibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

Alfes

Antunes

Shantz

2016

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

106

104

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Psychological contract provides a useful framework for examining the work environment, in both the paid and volunteer contexts (Conway & Briner, 2005;Stirling, Kilpatrick, & Orpin, 2011). With its basis in social exchange theory, the psychological contract comprises an individual's perception of what they expect from their organization (e.g., satisfactory pay, safe work environment, opportunity for advancement) and what they expect to provide to the organization in return (e.g., hard work, loyalty, quality work).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Psychological Contract of Volunteer Youth Sport Coaches

Harman

Doherty

2014

Journal of Sport Management

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This study examined the psychological contract of volunteer youth sport coaches to determine the content, variation, and influences to its development. Interviews were conducted with 22 volunteer coaches of team sports, representing different levels of play (recreational, competitive), coaching tenure (novice, experienced), and gender (female, male), who were sampled to account for the potential variation based on these demographic factors. The findings revealed that volunteer coaches possessed both transactional and relational expectations of themselves and their club. Coaches' most frequently cited expectations of themselves were technical expertise (transactional), and leadership (relational), while their most frequently cited expectations of the club were fundamental resources and club administration (transactional), and coach support (relational). Variation was found by different levels of play (recreational, competitive) and coaching tenure (novice, experienced). The coaches' psychological contract was shaped predominately by sources external to the club. Implications for managing the psychological contract of volunteer youth sport coaches and directions for future research are discussed.

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“…Commitment is known to be positively related to the reception of sufficient support to ensure that volunteers are comfortable with their role and its procedures. 85,86,[104][105][106] A related factor that is known to be a key motivator in retaining volunteers is the availability of ongoing training. Volunteers often cite the availability of ongoing training whilst they are delivering an intervention as a motivation for adherence to a programme.…”

Section: Other Studies Involving Volunteer Provisionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Putting Life in Years (PLINY): a randomised controlled trial and mixed-methods process evaluation of a telephone friendship intervention to improve mental well-being in independently living older people

Hind

Mountain

Gossage-Worrall

et al. 2014

Public Health Research

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BackgroundSocial isolation in older adults is associated with morbidity. Evaluating interventions to promote social engagement is a research priority.MethodsA parallel-group randomised controlled trial was planned to evaluate whether telephone friendship (TF) improves the well-being of independently living older people. An internal pilot aimed to recruit 68 participants by 30 September 2012, with 80% retained at 6 months. Randomisation was web based and only analysts were blind to allocation. A service provider was contracted to train 10 volunteer facilitators by 1 April 2012 and 10 more by 1 September 2012. Participants were aged > 74 years with good cognitive function and living independently in an urban community. The intervention arm of the trial consisted of manualised TF with standardised training: (1) one-to-one befriending (10- to 20-minute calls once per week for up to 6 weeks made by volunteer facilitators) followed by (2) TF groups of six participants (1-hour teleconferences once per week for 12 weeks facilitated by the same volunteer). Friendship groups aimed to enhance social support and increase opportunities for social interaction to maintain well-being. This was compared with usual health and social care provision. The primary clinical outcome was the Short Form questionnaire-36 items (SF-36) mental health dimension score at 6 months post randomisation. Qualitative research assessing intervention acceptability (participants) and implementation issues (facilitators) and an intervention fidelity assessment were also carried out. Intervention implementation was documented through e-mails, meeting minutes and field notes. Acceptability was assessed through framework analysis of semistructured interviews. Two researchers coded audio recordings of telephone discussions for fidelity using a specially designed checklist.ResultsIn total, 157 people were randomised to the TF group (n = 78) or the control group (n = 79). Pilot recruitment and retention targets were met. Ten volunteers were trained by 1 September 2012; after volunteer attrition, three out of the 10 volunteers delivered the group intervention. In total, 50 out of the 78 TF participants did not receive the intervention and the trial was closed early. A total of 56 people contributed primary outcome data from the TF (n = 26) and control (n = 30) arms. The mean difference in SF-36 mental health score was 9.5 (95% confidence interval 4.5 to 14.5) after adjusting for age, sex and baseline score. Participants who were interviewed (n = 19) generally declared that the intervention was acceptable. Participant dissatisfaction with closure of the groups was reported (n = 4). Dissatisfaction focused on lack of face-to-face contact and shared interests or attitudes. Larger groups experienced better cohesion. Interviewed volunteers (n = 3) expressed a lack of clarity about procedures, anxieties about managing group dynamics and a lack of confidence in the training and in their management and found scheduling calls challenging. Training was 91–95% adherent with the checklist (39 items; three groups). Intervention fidelity ranged from 30.2% to 52.1% (28–41 items; three groups, three time points), indicating that groups were not facilitated in line with training, namely with regard to the setting of ground rules, the maintenance of confidentiality and facilitating contact between participants.ConclusionsAlthough the trial was unsuccessful for a range of logistical reasons, the experience gained is of value for the design and conduct of future trials. Participant recruitment and retention were feasible. Small voluntary sector organisations may be unable to recruit, train and retain adequate numbers of volunteers to implement new services at scale over a short time scale. Such risks might be mitigated by multicentre trials using multiple providers and specialists to recruit and manage volunteers.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN28645428.FundingThis project was funded by the NIHR Public Health Research programme and will be published in full inPublic Health Research; Vol. 2, No. 7. See the NIHR Journals Library website for further project information.

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A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability

Cited by 64 publications

References 38 publications

The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

The management of volunteers – what can human resources do? A review and research agenda

The Psychological Contract of Volunteer Youth Sport Coaches

Putting Life in Years (PLINY): a randomised controlled trial and mixed-methods process evaluation of a telephone friendship intervention to improve mental well-being in independently living older people

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