A self‐determination theory perspective on how autonomy‐supportive and chaotic leadership relate to volunteers' need‐based experiences and turnover intentions: A variable‐centered and person‐centered approach

Abstract

Many nonprofit and voluntary organizations rely primarily on volunteers to deliver their services. However, they often struggle to retain their volunteers. Leadership within these organizations plays a pivotal role in addressing this issue. Therefore, this study adopted self‐determination theory as a guiding framework to investigate the role of leaders in volunteers' turnover intentions (i.e., intentions to leave the organization). Specifically, in a sample of 355 Flemish sports club volunteers, this study examined the associations between volunteers' perceptions of their leaders' autonomy‐supportive and chaotic style and their turnover intentions. Furthermore, it studied whether experiences of need satisfaction and need frustration could explain these relations. Structural equation modeling pointed toward the unique roles of a chaotic leadership style and experiences of need frustration in turnover intentions. Cluster analyses further confirmed that those volunteers who perceived their leaders as moderately to highly chaotic tend to report greater levels of need frustration and heightened turnover intentions. In addition, these analyses underscored the potential challenge faced by nonprofit leaders as they strive to maintain an autonomy‐supportive style without inadvertently slipping into chaotic behavior. This study lays the foundation for a new research agenda which prioritizes a systematic exploration of the relation between maladaptive leadership styles and dark side variables such as experiences of need frustration and turnover.