Generalizing motivation measurement indexes: the case of Midi Music Festival volunteers
International Journal of Event and Festival Management
ISSN: 1758-2954
Article publication date: 12 May 2020
Issue publication date: 11 August 2020
Abstract
Purpose
To date, researchers examining the motivations of volunteers at festivals and events have used a range of measurement indexes, most of which appear to have common antecedents in the psychology literature. It is not clear if different events actually require different scales, or if individual scales are more generalizable than is currently recognized so that the proliferation of scales is largely an academic exercise. The current study takes a preliminary step in exploring this issue by using an existing scale developed to measure the motivations of volunteers at western sporting events to examine the motivations of volunteers at a music festival in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The Volunteer Motivation Scale for International Sporting Events (VMS-ISE) is administered to volunteers at the Midi Music Festival in China. The 467 respondents are divided into two subgroups. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is applied to the first subsample to explore the factor structure of the index. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is then applied to the second subsample to test the factor structure of the resolved scale.
Findings
The results of the EFA are promising, yielding a resolved factor structure, which is very close to the hypothesized index. The resolved scale is reasonably well supported by the subsequent CFA.
Originality/value
The findings suggest it may be possible for researchers to use a smaller number of scales on a larger range of festivals leading to a better understanding of similarities and differences in motivations across event volunteers. The results should also be helpful to festival organizers in their continuing efforts to recruit volunteers.
Keywords
Citation
Vinnicombe, T. and Wu, Y.C. (2020), "Generalizing motivation measurement indexes: the case of Midi Music Festival volunteers", International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 273-287. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-09-2019-0046
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2020, Emerald Publishing Limited