Valuing the contribution of sport volunteering to subjective wellbeing: evidence from eight European countries

Abstract

IntroductionVolunteering is a prominent and integral aspect of the activities undertaken by sports clubs in Europe. However, even with its growing importance, quantifying the monetary worth of this nonmarket activity, in terms of wellbeing, can present certain difficulties. Traditional approaches to valuing volunteering (i.e., replacement and opportunity cost approaches) do not fully capture the value of volunteering to individuals, as they do not consider the intangible benefits that individuals may derive from their participation.MethodsThis research provides added value to the monetisation of volunteering in sport by applying the wellbeing valuation approach (WVA) for the first time to a cross-sectional data in eight European countries. A double instrumental variable approach was developed to correct for unobservable variables that may influence the pairs: income and subjective wellbeing (SWB), and volunteering and SWB. This allows to estimate the causal impact of volunteering and income on SWB more accurately and assign a reasonable monetary value to this non-market activity.ResultsThe results, based on a sample size of 1,091, show an income compensation for a volunteer, devoting on average 8.7 hours during a four-week period of €16 to €50 per hour, equivalent to between € 1,700 and € 5,200 per year, depending on the nationality of the volunteer.DiscussionWith these estimations insights into the value of volunteering in sports are provided, contributing to a better understanding of how this activity can be valued and supported. By recognising and accurately valuing the contributions of volunteers, sport organizations and policymakers can develop more effective strategies for promoting and supporting volunteering in sports.

Potential impact of relational job design on future intentions of episodic volunteers in major sport events

“…Relational job design can be seen as a management practice that takes into account volunteers’ relatedness needs and their desire to have an impact on the organization and beneficiaries. Understanding the positive effects of relational job design can benefit episodic volunteers and also create a legacy of volunteering in the community, resulting in a win-win outcome ( Kokolakakis et al, 2024 ). It has been shown that relational job design could improve ongoing volunteers’ attitudes and behavior concerning voluntary ( Alfes et al, 2015 ), and our study found a similar pattern among episodic volunteers with regard to higher future intention.…”