Attracting Volunteers in Highly Multicultural Societies: A Marketing Challenge

Abstract

Increasingly, volunteer managers are facing a typical marketing problem: how to identify the right consumers (in this case volunteers); attract them; and keep them loyal. In multicultural societies this challenge is amplified because of the many different groups originating from countries that can vary significantly in terms of the extent and nature of volunteering and the reasons for being involved. Often, the consequence of this heterogeneity is limited success of generic, community-wide marketing and recruitment campaigns.Using the Theory of Planned Behavior, we investigate whether significant differences exist between Australian residents from different cultural backgrounds in their volunteering behavior. Groups were found to differ in attitude, social norm and perceived behavioral control, suggesting the need for customized rather than market-wide marketing strategies.Results are theoretically important because they provide empirical evidence that volunteers in multicultural societies cannot be viewed as one homogeneous mass. Practically, the results provide detailed insight into each cultural group and the factors which influence their behavior. This can be used to create customized campaigns to tap into the large, but underutilized, base of volunteers from different backgrounds.3

Volunteering research in Australia: A narrative review

“…For example, the Southern Europeans primarily volunteered to support people with a similar cultural background. In a follow‐up quantitative study, same authors (Randle & Dolnicar, ) compared Australians to Chinese, Americans, and Germans on the TPB components. They found significant differences in what contributed to forming the norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioural control between the groups.…”

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

“…The recruitment and selection of volunteers enables non-profits to meet one of their main challenges -identifying the people who are most likely to volunteer for a specific cause, attracting them, and keeping them loyal (Randle & Dolnicar, 2012). The aim of recruitment is to attract a small number of suitable applicants quickly and inexpensively, and it typically involves drafting and publicizing advertisements via common media outlets such as local newspapers, specialist publications, websites dedicated to promoting volunteering, and inviting current volunteers to invite friends, family and colleagues to volunteer (Broadbridge & Horne, 1996;Whithear, 1999).…”

The Mediating Role of Identification with a Nonprofit Organization in the Relationship Between Competition and Charitable Behaviors

“…Charitable behaviors have also been shown to depend heavily on donors' worldview (Waters, 2009). Even though individuals may be intrinsically motivated to donate by their values and worldview, most donations are actually made in response to some form of solicitation (Bekkers, 2006;Bryant et al, 2003;Diamond & Noble, 2001;Randle & Dolnicar, 2012;Wardell & Ashley, 2011). In other words, the first prerequisite for people to perform charitable behaviors is generally a request that either provides the initial awareness of an organization's need or stimulates an existing but dormant awareness.…”