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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among selected demographic characteristics (income, education and age), motivation and commitment of volunteers at a sporting event. Three-hundred and five questionnaires were collected from volunteers in a marathon event and analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Based on the results, the structural model illustrated that the paths of selected demographic characteristics, volunteer motivation, and volunteer commitment were statistically significant. The results of this study will contribute not only to an extension of the knowledge base of sport volunteerism, but also to practical applications for volunteer coordinators and event marketers.
Keywords: volunteerism, commitment, motivation, marathon
In the sport industry, the importance of volunteerism has been raised in economic as well as non-economic aspects. Chelladurai (2006) appraised that the economic value of volunteers in sport exceeds $50 billion. It can be surmised that about 20% of all volunteers in America were in sport and recreation. Sport volunteers are a critical part of the overall success of many major sporting events (Warner, Newland & Green, 2011) and play a key role in the provision of sport participation opportunities (Hoye& Doherty, 2011; Mihajlovic, Komnenic, Kastratovic & Cilerdzic, 2010). Several financial benefits result from the retention of volunteers: (a) organizations benefit financially from the use of well-trained volunteers in place of paid staff; (b) volunteers come from various backgrounds and possess different aptitudes, thus are able to serve in various job positions and responsibilities; (c) volunteers can be used again in future sporting events, making their financial impact even greater. Chelladurai discussed the noneconomic significance of volunteers. According to him, volunteers can provide an objective evaluation because they are not tied to any financial benefits and/or incentives. This role of volunteers can help the organization stay on the right track.
Following these views about the significance of sport volunteerism, Farrell, Johnson, and Twynam (1998) suggested that managers should understand volunteer motivation along with the volunteering experience, in order to effectively respond to management needs in the areas of recruitment, retention, and daily operations of sport events. Therefore, research of volunteerism in the context of sport events has been focusing on motivation and management relating to the recruitment and the retention of volunteers.
Motivation to volunteer is instrumental...