Volunteer roles, involvement and commitment in voluntary sport organizations: evidence of core and peripheral volunteers

Abstract

The nature and scope of volunteer involvement in sport is well established, however research indicates that involvement in community sport volunteering is under threat (Cuskelly, 2005; Cuskelly, Taylor, Hoye & Darcy, 2005). Trends indicate volunteer hours per individual are decreasing and this can have significant implications for the successful operation of voluntary sport organizations and the subsequent benefits for participants and the communities in which they operate. This paper extends knowledge of the nature of volunteer engagement in sport by exploring the categorization of sport volunteers as "core" or "peripheral" based on self-reported levels of involvement and commitment within Voluntary Sport Organizations (VSO). Using a survey of 243 sport volunteers across three sports, we identified significant differences between core and peripheral volunteers based on their levels of involvement and commitment in their selfidentified primary sport organization roles. Implications of these findings for volunteer recruitment and retention, and for the provision of sport participation opportunities in the community are addressed.

Committing to refugee resettlement volunteering: Attaching, detaching and displacing organizational ties

“…Other measures of volunteer commitment examine the quality of volunteers’ ‘post-recruitment participation’ (Catano et al, 2001: 256) by focusing on the ‘willingness of a person to engage in activities that are consistent with and support the organization’s objectives’ (Ringuet-Riot et al, 2014: 120). Given social psychology’s influence on studies of organizational commitment (Cheney et al, 2014), most studies frame commitment as a psychological ‘force that binds an individual to a course of action of relevance to one or more targets’ (Meyer and Herscovitch, 2001: 301), where the course of action implies reduced organizational turnover, less absenteeism, and identification with organizational mission.…”

NIRSA Championship Series Volunteerism: The Perceived Impact on Professional Development

“…This continued commitment to quality service is found across volunteers regardless of age (Misener, Doherty, & Hamm-Kerwin, 2010), volunteer role (Ringuet-Riot, Cuskelly, Auld, & Zakus, 2014), or competitive level (Cuskelly, Harrington, & Stebbins, 2002;Wilks, 2016).…”

The influence of organizational social responsibility on involvement behavior in community sport membership associations

“…Recent research has also demonstrated that the value orientation of a CSO toward helping others in the community may also play an important role in whether people continue their affiliation with that club (Misener & Babiak, ). Preventing any loss of volunteers or members offers important benefits for the CSO, including efficiency; enhanced focus on service delivery; and financial benefit, which can prevent increases in member dues (Ringuet‐Riot, Cuskelly, Auld, & Zakus, ). Thus, positive appraisal of the club from others (i.e., word of mouth) may offer CSOs an important mechanism for strengthening their relationship with members and ensuring positive attachment with the organization.…”