Perceived organizational support on episodic volunteers' affective and behavioral outcomes: a case of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationships between volunteer job satisfaction, attitude toward volunteering and continuance intention. Also, this study investigated the moderating role of volunteer age in the relationships between study variables.

Design/methodology/approach

Participants were recruited from volunteers in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and/or the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (N = 4,824). Data were primarily analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA).

Findings

Results of the PLS-SEM indicated that, firstly, POS had a positive and significant effect on continuance intention, attitude and job satisfaction. Moreover, the influence of job satisfaction on attitude was statistically significant. Paths from attitude and job satisfaction to continuance intention were statistically and positively significant. As a next step, PLS-MGA was conducted using basic bootstrapping to test the age difference in the research model. Significant differences were found in the paths from POS to attitude and from satisfaction to continuance intention. More specifically, the influence of POS on attitude was significantly stronger for the younger group. On the other hand, the impact of satisfaction on continuance intention was significantly stronger for the older group.

Originality/value

The large sample size of this study offered more persuasive empirical evidence on the role of POS in volunteers' perception and behavior. The findings suggest the importance of the event organizer's support for volunteer outcomes and clear communication with volunteers on their needs and wants.

Citation

Won, D., Chiu, W., Bang, H. and Bravo, G.A. (2021), "Perceived organizational support on episodic volunteers' affective and behavioral outcomes: a case of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games", International Journal of Event and Festival Management, Vol. 12 No. 2, pp. 240-258. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJEFM-10-2020-0060

Introduction

Volunteers are critical and essential human resources for any mega-events. For example, about 80,000 volunteers will be needed for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics to host their events successfully. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will have a separate volunteer system enlisting another 30,000 unpaid volunteers to support the upcoming events (Wade, 2019). As such, unpaid volunteers are worth millions of dollars to sport mega-events (SMEs), especially to the Olympic Games. While people volunteer for sport events for various reasons, many sport events and organizers have difficulty finding volunteers. For instance, the 2016 Rio Olympics had issues with volunteer recruitment and retention during the event period, as around 30% of volunteers failed to show up for their works (Wade, 2019).

Although individuals enjoy the privileges of volunteering at an SME, volunteering may sometimes not be a positive experience. Considering the nature of volunteering that involves a freely chosen decision to help others, understanding external factors that create individuals' feelings of being pleased with their volunteer experience is essential. Numerous volunteers have reported having negative experiences due to a lack of support from the event organizers (Aisbett and Hoye, 2014). Some of the common problems include the organizer's lack of consideration for volunteers' welfare and lack of supports during their volunteer shifts (Sims, 2019; Wade, 2019). Meanwhile, volunteers who have a positive experience working for Olympic events are likely to continue their volunteer involvement across various settings. For example, volunteers for the 2000 Paralympics created a social club, called “the Spirit of Sydney Volunteers” and continue to volunteer for other events (IOC, 2020). Therefore, the event organizers should provide a proper level of organizational support to enhance volunteers' satisfaction with their role/job, attitude toward volunteering and ultimately increase their intention to volunteer for other events.

Moreover, it should be noted that the management of event volunteers varies greatly from other forms of volunteers because event organizers need to put more effort to recruit episodic volunteers and provide sufficient training and preparation in a relatively short period of time (Cho et al., 2020a, b; Kim and Cuskelly, 2017). Consequently, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of perceived organizational support (POS) on the relationships between volunteer job satisfaction, attitude toward volunteering and continuance intention in the SME context. Also, this study examined the moderating effect of volunteers' age on the relationships between the study variables.

Literature review and hypotheses development

Sport volunteering in Brazil: social and historical context

Volunteers' involvement in Brazil is not a new phenomenon. In fact, there is a long history that dates to the early 20th century when civil, secular and religious organizations became involved in volunteering to assist and provide comfort to the poor (Müller, 2018). In the mid-1940s, the Brazilian government created a program called the “Brazilian Legion of Assistance,” which later develops into the National Program of Volunteers (Conselho Brasileiro de Voluntariado Empresarial, 2013). This program, which resulted in the expansion of volunteer and philanthropic work all over the country, served to assist the work of public organizations in matters related to social assistance. Today, volunteers' work in Brazil is ruled by Law 9,608 of 1998. This legislation defined the terms of what constitutes volunteer work, providing a distinction with paid work and describing the responsibilities of organizations that employ volunteers. In 2011, it was estimated that 25% of the Brazilian population, or close to 50 million people, were involved in some form of volunteer work (Brazilian Institute of Public Opinion and Statistics; IBOPE, 2011). More recently, in 2019, the Brazilian government created the “National Program of Incentive Volunteer,” intending to strengthen and incentivize the collaboration between volunteer organizations and the public and private sector (Governo do Brasil, 2019). But despite the long tradition of Brazilian policy initiatives in volunteerism, particularly with volunteering for social assistance, sport volunteerism in Brazil is a relatively new phenomenon that has been mostly triggered by the country's hosting of SMEs since the early 2000s [1].

Although Brazilians involvement in sport volunteering has been minimally documented in the English scientific literature (see Bang et al., 2019), a few studies published in the Portuguese language have examined the motivation of sport volunteers at different SMEs (e.g. Couto et al., 2015; Oliveira and Coata, 2016; Pereira and Cavalcante, 2018). These studies primarily examined the motivational profiles of sport volunteers. For example, using Bang and Chelladurai (2009)'s model of motivation of sport volunteering, Pereira and Cavalcante (2018) administered a survey to 400 volunteers during the Olympics Games in Rio 2016. Findings revealed that volunteers' motivation was mainly related to “expressions of values,” “love for the sport,” and “personal contacts” and less related to “extrinsic motivations” such as obtaining official apparel or free tickets to events during the Games.

Given the current volunteerism culture in Brazil, it is deemed necessary to investigate how we can enable sustainable volunteerism from the human resource management (HRM) perspective. In this study, we focused on the concept of POS in understanding sustainable volunteerism.

Perceived organizational support

This study incorporated the POS (Eisenberger et al., 1986) framework in the SME volunteer context, through which we can explain how SME volunteers' perception of organizational support maximizes their satisfaction with their volunteer experience and advances their attitude toward volunteering. POS, widely studied in the for-profit sector, describes employees' beliefs in relation to the extent to which the respective organization cares about their well-being and values their contributions (Eisenberger et al., 1986). Individuals usually interpret organizational support based on management behaviors and policies in organizations (Laschinger et al., 2006). According to Rhoades and Eisenberger's (2002) meta-analysis, there are three major categories of beneficial treatment associated with employees' levels of POS: fairness, supervisor support, and organizational rewards and favorable job conditions. Individuals' POS by favorable treatment drives beneficial outcomes, such as improving employees' well-being. For example, people with high POS are more satisfied with their jobs, have reduced stress in the workplace, and feel more connected with their organization (Eisenberger et al., 1997). Beyond the employee benefits, POS encourages employees to improve workplace attitudes and behaviors to reciprocate substantive supports that finally benefit the organization (Eisenberger et al., 2001; Pazy and Ganzach, 2009).

The importance of POS in volunteering contexts

POS is particularly important to volunteers whose behaviors aim at helping others without expecting monetary rewards. Although volunteers donate time, talent and effort to serve their own value and self-interest, their work engagement and organizational commitment may be largely dependent on the organizations' treatment of the volunteers (Bang, 2011). Volunteers will most value the reward that makes them feel valued and supported by the organization, leading them to perform better and continue serving (McBey et al., 2017). Many volunteer studies have shown that POS is associated with organizational commitment (McBey et al., 2017), volunteer organization respect (Boezeman and Ellemers, 2007) and intention to remain with the volunteer organization (Walker et al., 2016).

Although a growing number of studies are carried out within general volunteer settings, the application of POS to the sport event volunteer context has been limited. Being unique from regular service volunteers working for nonprofit organizations, volunteering at sport events, especially SMEs (e.g. the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the FIFA World Cup), is relatively episodic as individuals provide temporary help for a limited period of time rather than on a continuous basis (Bang et al., 2019). At first glance, the POS application to an episodic volunteer setting could be presumed that POS would not be a strong contributor to volunteers' enhanced satisfaction and attitude toward volunteering. However, studies suggest that from the serious leisure perspective, volunteers at sport events are characterized as career volunteers because of their specialized skills and sustained involvement in volunteering at the events (Harrington et al., 2000; Wilk, 2016). Moreover, one of the sport event-specific motives of volunteers is being helpful in providing particular skills and abilities (Bang and Chelladurai, 2009; Doherty, 2009). This attests that individuals find volunteer work at SMEs to provide social and career-related benefits. Therefore, the role of organizational context in fulfilling volunteers' personal needs and recognizing their services at the SME is vital not only to the volunteer management practices but also to volunteers' will to continuously volunteer in the community. Due to the distinct conditions under which sport event volunteers play a role differing from regular service volunteers and paid event employees (Aisbett and Hoye, 2014), understanding how the contextual factor of organizational support contributes to SME volunteers' intention to continue volunteering is essential, thereby clarifying patterns of continued episodic volunteering (Hyde et al., 2014).

The effects of POS on volunteer outcomes in sport events

A large body of research has demonstrated that POS promotes positive experiences and actions, such as high job satisfaction, enhanced dedication, personal growth, positive emotions and better performance (Yu and Frenkel, 2013). The study by Aisbett and Hoye (2014), one of the very few studies on POS in the sport event volunteer context, identified the nature of POS of volunteers in a community cycling event in Australia. Their findings revealed that sport event volunteers' overall perceptions of organizational support involve the positive support of their immediate supervisor and the level of decision-making regarding their role. Aisbett and Hoye (2015) further examined the relative contributions of POS and perceived supervisor support (PSS) to predicting affective commitment and satisfaction of the sport event volunteers. They found that POS was likely to make a more substantial contribution to predicting volunteers' commitment than PSS, whereas PSS made a more substantial contribution to predicting satisfaction than POS. Sport event volunteers might rate the direct social relationship (with their immediate event day supervisor) higher than any formalized support mechanisms provided by the event organization (Aisbett and Hoye, 2015). After all, a feeling that volunteers are supported by their immediate supervisor is closely linked to their POS. Because event volunteers usually have little direct contact with the organization, they tend to interpret organizational support as one provided by their immediate supervisor acting as an agent of the organization (Aisbett and Hoye, 2014). Supporting the positive outcomes of POS in sport event volunteer settings, the study by Aisbett et al. (2015) at the 2013 Australian Masters Games found that volunteers with a higher degree of POS had higher levels of satisfaction and future voluntary intentions within their community after the completion of the event. Hence, we examine the following hypotheses.

H1.

POS positively influences the continuance intention of volunteers.

H2.

POS positively influences volunteers' attitudes toward volunteering at the event.

H3.

POS positively influences job satisfaction of volunteers.

Attitude, job satisfaction and episodic volunteers' continuance intention

In this research, attitude toward volunteering is defined as one's relatively enduring positive and negative evaluation of overall volunteer activity at the sport event (Eagly and Chaiken, 1998). Job satisfaction refers to an evaluative state that expresses contentment with and pleasurable emotions about various dimensions of one's job, such as job assignment and allocation (Judge and Kammeyer-Mueller, 2012). Applying POS to the SME volunteer context, when the sport event organization cares and values their volunteers' contribution to the sport events, the volunteers' attitude toward volunteering at the event and satisfaction with their job would increase (Cho et al., 2020a, b). According to Eisenberger et al. (2001), high POS leads the individuals to feel obligated to repay the organization through an improved level of work engagement and reduced withdrawal behavior for the favorable supportive treatments, eliciting the norm of reciprocity (Settoon et al., 1996). However, because SMEs are typically high-profile international events held periodically in different host countries (Bang et al., 2019), most local volunteers at an SME have less of a chance to return to volunteer for its future event, being unable to serve the reciprocity norm. Nonetheless, volunteers' positive outlook and attitude toward volunteering and job satisfaction resulted from the support and recognition received from the event organization (i.e. POS) can convert into further volunteering at a different setting or on a more regular basis within the community. This can be explained by Grant and Dutton's (2012) argument that reflecting on giving benefits to other people would enhance prosocial behavior.

Seeing oneself as a benefactor represents that he or she strongly holds benevolence values that protecting and promoting the well-being of the people with whom one is in personal contact are essential (Grant and Dutton, 2012; Schwartz and Bardi, 2001). Such benevolence values bring feelings of responsibility and social identity as a capable and valued contributor, providing an internalized motivational base for prosocial behavior to express, affirm and fulfill the desire to help effectively (Grant and Dutton, 2012). In this regard, organizations can play a major role in influencing positive mood through a supportive work environment where individuals have an improved level of self-efficacy (Eisenberger et al., 2001). For example, organizations' continued volunteer recognition and support ranging from orientation and training to evaluation and postvolunteer feedback would help volunteers positively evaluate their volunteering activity and create a sense of pride and self-identity, which reflects an attitude toward volunteering at the event and job satisfaction. With positive volunteering attitude and job satisfaction, volunteers would place great importance on benevolence values, which lead them to continue volunteering in their community even after the sport event. Furthermore, individuals' satisfaction with different aspects or facets of volunteering jobs can allow them to evaluate their overall volunteer activity with some degree of favor or disfavor (Eagly and Chaiken, 1998). Thus, volunteers' job satisfaction can be closely associated with their overall attitude toward volunteering at the sport event. Thus, we examined the following hypotheses.

H4.

Job satisfaction positively influences attitude toward volunteering.

H5.

Attitudes toward volunteering positively influence continuance intention to volunteer.

H6.

Job satisfaction positively influences continuance intention to volunteer.

Age as a moderator in the relationships

With aging and the associated future time constraints, individuals are likely to change their volunteering motives from career-related benefits to service and community obligation concerns (Ho et al., 2012; Omoto et al., 2000). Old individuals tend to perceive time as a limited resource, leading them to focus less on preparing for the future and more on regulating their current affective states, while young individuals who perceive time as expansive are more motivated to acquire knowledge (DeWall et al., 2006). Such different meanings of volunteering that are dependent upon the changes in roles and motivational agendas over an individual's lifetime (Omoto et al., 2000) can affect the individual's POS and its association with attitude, job satisfaction and continuous volunteer intention.

Bang (2015) showed in her empirical study that younger volunteers were more likely to have high job satisfaction than older volunteers when they had high levels of respect for the knowledge, competence and/or professional skills of leaders or followers of their organization. Also, high levels of volunteers' job satisfaction predicted their intention to stay with the organization, but the association was more pronounced among older volunteers than younger volunteers. Older volunteers might perceive their remaining time in their work-related future to be constrained, thereby focusing on the emotional gains by engaging in their volunteer work (Bang, 2015). By contrast, younger volunteers might be more interested in educational and long-term pursuits as they look for future job opportunities even when they are satisfied with the volunteer work at the organization (Bang, 2015). However, the study by Bang (2015) emphasizes the importance of the age factor concerning volunteers' job satisfaction and intention to stay in the context of nonprofit sport organizations where most volunteers work on a regular basis. To our knowledge, there is no study that examined the moderating role of age in the effects of POS on episodic volunteer outcomes in sport event settings. Therefore, we attempted to address this gap in the literature by investigating whether age differences exist in the research model with the paths from POS to attitude, satisfaction and continuance intention among Olympic volunteers. Thus, we tested the following hypothesis. The hypothesized research model is illustrated in Figure 1.

H7.

Volunteers' age moderates the relationships between study variables.

Methods

Participants and procedures

Participants of this study were recruited from volunteers in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (August 5–21, 2016) and/or the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games (September 7–18, 2016). The Rio 2016 Organizing Committee (ROC) invited all volunteers listed in its volunteer database (N = 35,937) to participate in the online survey. A total of 4,824 volunteers responded to the online survey, yielding a response rate of 13.4%. Of the 4,824 participants, the majority were female (n = 2,658, 55.1%) and White (n = 2,919, 60.5%). The mean age of the respondents was 39.87 (SD = 14.33). The vast majority of the respondents were from Brazil (n = 4,102, 85.03%), i.e. domestic volunteers, and had previous volunteer experience elsewhere (n = 3,069, 63.6%).

Moreover, before volunteering in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and/or the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, most respondents participated in different volunteer activities, such as sport events, school or educational settings, Church or religious groups, charitable organizations. Respondents primarily volunteered in the Olympic Games, followed by Paralympic Games and Pre-Olympic Games. Please see Table 1 for the descriptive statistics of the demographic information.

Volunteer tasks and responsibilities

The 2016 ROC launched the volunteer program in May 2014. The organizers expected to select 70,000 volunteers of the more than 240,000 applications received (IOC, 2014; Rio 2016). In the end, they only selected 50,000, of which 35,000 were assigned to assist all sorts of tasks during the Olympic Games and 15,000 to the Paralympic Games (Müller, 2018). Most of the volunteers were from Brazil, and 46% were from Rio de Janeiro (Firstpost, 2016; GloboEsporte, 2015). The call for volunteers identified two types: generalist and specialist. A general volunteer was defined as someone with no specific skills and language. This type of volunteer focused on assisting general tasks, such as providing information about the location of venues, events, transportation, and checking credentials and tickets at the entrance of sport venues. Volunteers in the specialist category were individuals who possessed some specific skills such as medical, sport, language and technology. Most of the tasks of these volunteers took place inside major sport venues, the press center, health clinics and the Olympic village. Some of the professional backgrounds of specialists included nurses, medical doctors, health professionals, IT specialists, lawyers, journalists, statisticians, interpreters, professionals in the hospitality services, etc. Minimum requirements to apply included being 18 years and older, high school degree, commit for a minimum of 10 days and complete online training before the event. In exchange for the volunteer services, the ROC committed to providing all selected volunteers the official volunteer uniform, an online English language training course, certificate of participation, free transportation within the city of Rio de Janeiro and meals during the days when volunteers were assigned to work (Rio 2016, 2014).

Survey instrument

The survey instrument items for this study were developed through collaborative efforts between the researchers and the ROC. A series of consultations were held to ensure the data quality and fulfill both the needs of the researchers and ROC. The measurement items were largely originated from relevant studies (e.g. Alexander et al., 2015; Bang et al., 2019). That is, the survey instrument was developed based on instruments validated in previous studies, with some modifications and revisions made by the researchers and partner organization. In addition, the questionnaire items were evaluated by industry practitioners in the event sectors to ensure content validity. The constructs and items were detailed below.

Continuance intention

Continuance intention was assessed using a single item “Having volunteered at the Rio 2016 Games, in the next 12 months, do you think you will do more or less volunteering than you did in the 12 months prior to the Rio 2016 Games?” More specifically, this question does not limit to sport events and includes other volunteer activities, such as charitable organizations, community associations, etc. The survey participants' responses were rated by a 5-point Likert-type scale, ranging from 1 (much less) to 5 (much more).

Attitude

Volunteers' attitude toward volunteering (at a sport event) was measured by six items, including “Volunteering at the sport event is worthwhile,” “Volunteering at the sporting event is very good,” “Volunteering at the sport events is boring,” “Volunteering at the sport event is pleasant,” “Volunteering at sport events is a foolish thing to do,” and “Volunteering at the sport event is enjoyable.” The survey participants' responses were rated by a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

Job satisfaction

Job satisfaction was measured by three items on volunteers' responses on how they were satisfied with their task and job at the event, including “Your job assignment,” “The number of shifts allocated,” and “How efficiently your time was used during your shift.” The survey participants' responses were rated by a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).

Perceived organizational support

POS was assessed by three items on volunteers' experience at the event, including “The support and recognition you received from paid staff,” “The support and recognition you received from volunteer team leader(s),” and “Recognition of your efforts (e.g. pin badges, certificate, baton). Although these items may not fully capture the accurate concept of POS, these items were found to be aligned with the definition of POS, representing volunteers' perception regarding the degree which organization recognizes and values their contribution and effort (Eisenberger et al., 1986). The survey participants' responses were rated by a 5-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfied).

Data analysis

In this study, we performed a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using the PLS algorithm through SmartPLS 3.0 (Ringle et al., 2015) in three phases. First, the reliability and validity of measures were evaluated. Second, relationships between variables in the research model were examined. Finally, a partial least squares-multi-group analysis (PLS-MGA) was employed to explore the difference between the older group and the younger group in the paths of the proposed model.

Results

Measurement model assessment

The measurement model was accessed following the guidelines of Hair et al. (2017) by examining internal consistency reliability (rho_A coefficients and composite reliability [CR]), convergent validity (factor loadings and average variance extracted [AVE]) and discriminant validity (heterotrait–monotrait ratio [HTMT] and Fornell–Larker criterion). However, three items of attitude were eliminated due to the low factor loadings (<0.50) (Hair et al., 2017). After removing the inappropriate items, the measurement model revealed satisfactory reliability and validity. As reported in Table 2, rho_A coefficients and CR values of all constructs exceeded the suggested value (0.70), indicating adequate internal consistency reliability (Hair et al., 2017). Moreover, the factor loadings of all constructs were highly significant (p < 0.01), ranging from 0.652 to 0.790 (Hair et al., 2017), and AVE values were all greater than the 0.50 threshold (Fornell and Larcker, 1981), thereby supporting convergent validity.

In addition, discriminant validity was examined by HTMT and Fornell–Larker criterion. As shown in Table 3, the correlations of HTMT were all lower than the conservative threshold value of 0.85 (Henseler et al., 2015). Also, the Fornell–Lacker examination revealed that the square roots of the AVE of each construct were higher than interconstructs correlations, supporting the discriminant validity (Chin, 2010; Fornell and Larcker, 1981).

Structural model assessment

The structural model and hypotheses were examined by performing the PLS bootstrapping algorithm with 2,000 resamples to test the significant level of hypothesized relationships. The path coefficient, SD and t-value for each path were reported in Table 4 and Figure 2). First, POS has a positive and significant effect on continuance intention (β _POS → _INT = 0.120, t = 4.814, p < 0.001), attitude (β _POS → _ATT = 0.153, t = 5.790, p < 0.001) and job satisfaction (β _POS → _SAT = 0.685, t = 46.368, p < 0.001), supporting H1, H2 and H3. Moreover, the influence of job satisfaction on attitude was statistically significant (β _SAT → _ATT = 0.354, t = 12.626, p < 0.001), supporting H4. In addition, paths from attitude and job satisfaction to continuance intention were statistically and positively significant (β _ATT → _INT = 0.213, t = 9.846, p < 0.001; β _SAT → _INT = 0.131, t = 5.024, p < 0.001), and therefore H5 and H6 were supported.

Multigroup analysis

An independent t-test was initially performed to examine the difference between the older group (n = 2,236) and the younger group (n = 2,588). As reported in Table 5, it was found that younger group had a higher level of satisfaction (M_Older = 4.101, M_Younger = 4.150; t = −1.96, p < 0.05) and attitude (M_Older = 4.728, M_Younger = 4.809; t = −6.206, p < 0.001). As a next step, a PLS-MGA was conducted using basic bootstrapping (2,000 subsamples) to test the age difference in the research model. According to the guidelines of PLS-MGA (Hair et al., 2017), a significant difference exists in a specific path when p-values are above 0.95 and below 0.05. As shown in Table 6, significant differences were found in the path from POS to attitude and from satisfaction to continuance intention. More specifically, the influence of POS on attitude was significantly stronger for the younger group (p-value = 0.988). On the other hand, the impact of satisfaction on continuance intention was significantly stronger for the older group (p-value = 0.020).

Discussion

Extant literature of volunteerism has identified the influential role of POS in individuals' intention to volunteer in future events (Aisbett and Hoye, 2014; Aisbett et al., 2015). However, there has been little empirical research on the impact of POS on individuals' continuance intention to volunteer for sport events (Aisbett and Hoye, 2015). To address the gap of literature, the primary purpose of this study was to examine the impact of POS on individuals' job satisfaction, attitude toward volunteering and continuance intention. This study further explored the moderating role of age in the effects of POS on episodic volunteer outcomes in SME settings. According to the findings of this study, the theoretical and practical implications are discussed below.

Theoretical implications

First, this study established the influence of POS on volunteer outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, attitude and continuance intention) in the SME context (i.e. Rio Olympics). Also, the large sample size (N = 4,824) of this study offered more persuasive empirical evidence on the role of POS in SME volunteers' perception and behavior. Those findings add substantially to our understanding of episodic volunteering at SMEs. Sport event volunteers' engagement tends to be episodic, and volunteering, particularly at SMEs, is a seemingly one-time or short-term impulse of volunteerism as if volunteers disappear when they complete this one-time commitment (Cnaan and Handy, 2005). However, our findings highlight that POS can play a vital role in generating episodic volunteers' positive emotions, which increase their intention to continue to engage in voluntary action (Aisbett and Hoye, 2014; Aisbett et al., 2015). The memories and reflections from volunteering at SMEs can be long-lasting, thereby enabling the volunteers to repeat the experience at subsequent events or other types of similar events (Wilks, 2016). Moreover, according to the norm of reciprocity (Settoon et al., 1996), volunteers who perceive a higher level of POS (i.e. a beneficial action by the organization) are likely to return a benefit as a way to respond to a beneficial action (Schmidthuber and Hilgers, 2019). Thus, it is possible that volunteers may regard future volunteering as a reciprocal way of responding to a beneficial action made by the host organization (i.e. prosocial behavior). In a similar vein, Farmer and Fedor (1999) found that POS is significantly related to turnover intention or intention to remain. In line with social exchange theory (Blau, 1964), volunteers are likely to continue their involvement as a volunteer because they may “perceive an obligation to reciprocity in their relationship and use this perception when forming intention about their ongoing involvement” (Walker et al., 2016, p. 1066). Since the Olympic volunteers do not have an organization that they can return to, they are likely to volunteer for similar future events and/or other community-based organizations (Aisbett et al., 2015).

Second, it was found that POS has an especially strong influence on volunteers' job satisfaction (β = 0.658), which in turn significantly affects their attitude toward volunteering at sport event and intention to continue volunteering. In the literature of organizational behavior, POS has been known as an important antecedent of employees' satisfaction (Armstrong-Stassen and Ursel, 2009; Cullen et al., 2014; O'Driscoll and Randall, 1999). A meta-analysis also identified that POS is strongly related to employees' job satisfaction (Kurtessis et al., 2017). The critical role of POS has received focused attention in the context of sport event volunteerism in the recent years. For example, Aisbett and Hoye (2015) found that perceived supports from the organization and supervisor are the significant antecedent of volunteers' satisfaction. Moreover, the study by Aisbett et al. (2015) suggested that POS contributes to predicting both volunteer satisfaction and future volunteer intention, and both POS and satisfaction predict future volunteer intention. Meanwhile, volunteers' positive affect (i.e. satisfaction) plays an important role in future volunteer intention. MacLean and Hamm (2007) argued that job satisfaction is the most influential factor affecting volunteers' intention to remain. Also, Cho et al. (2020a, b) argued that a high level of negative emotion (i.e. negative exhaustion) could cause volunteers to develop negative attitudes and behavioral intentions toward future participation in volunteer activities. It indicates that POS can serve as a facilitator to improve volunteers' positive affect (i.e. satisfaction), which further leads to a more positive attitude and favorable intention toward volunteering.

Moreover, perception of organizational support has a direct effect on volunteers' attitudes toward volunteering at sport event, which in turn result in a higher level of continuance intention to volunteer. This finding is also consistent with previous studies suggesting the important role of POS in the formation of positive work attitudes (Heaney et al., 1995; Ng and Sorensen, 2008). For instance, Farmer and Fedor (1999) claimed that POS is positively associated with volunteers' attitudes toward participation and engagement in volunteer activities. Moreover, Chen et al. (2016) suggested that volunteers who perceived a higher level of organizational support are less likely to perform interpersonal and organizational workplace deviance, such as sabotage, withdrawal behavior, theft, abuse of time, and resources and accepting kickbacks. Therefore, it indicates that POS can not only avoid volunteers from workplace deviance but also help establish their favorable attitudes toward volunteering at sport events.

Our findings also showed a significant and positive relationship between attitude and intention. In particular, the effect of attitude on intention (β = 0.213) is likely to be stronger than the influence of job satisfaction on intention (β = 0.131), indicating the critical role of the positive and favorable attitude in affecting continuance intention. Also, the positive relationship between attitude and intention suggests that volunteers with positive attitudes toward volunteering at sport events may have the desire and intention to participate in the future event. Similar results were identified in previous studies (e.g. Brayley et al., 2015; Cho et al., 2020a, b). Therefore, volunteers' attitude remains an essential factor affecting their future intention to volunteer.

In addition, this study conducted the multigroup analysis and discovered some hidden patterns between different age groups in the hypothesized model. In particular, this study found that POS has a stronger influence on attitude toward volunteering at sport events for younger volunteers as compared with older volunteers, indicating that POS is received better by younger volunteers in the formation process of attitude toward volunteer at a sport event. It could be attributed to the differences in expectations and personal motivations between younger and older volunteers (Bang, 2015). Although the moderating role of age in the influence of POS is still not clear, it has been found that the relationship between psychological contract breach and trust/commitment toward the organization is stronger for younger employees (Bal et al., 2008). That is, when younger individuals' expectations and needs are fulfilled by the organization, they are more likely to form a favorable work attitude. Similarly, organizational support perceived by younger volunteers may have a more significant impact on their attitudes.

On the other hand, the influence of job satisfaction on continuance intention is stronger for older adults, which is consistent with the study by Bang (2015). This phenomenon can be explained by the socio-emotional selectivity theory (Carstensen, 1995). As compared to younger volunteers, because older volunteers are more likely to have higher socioeconomic status, they are typically more dedicated and have more time/resources and likely to return (or intent to return) if they are satisfied with their work (Armstrong-Stassen and Ursel, 2009; Bang, 2015; Erlinghagen and Hank, 2006). By contrast, due to the lower socioeconomic status, younger ones might be more career-driven and/or have more things to do (or less dedicated to volunteering) (Bang, 2015).

Practical implications

Despite an official report of the IOC that highlighted the overall success of the 2016 Rio Olympic and Paralympic Games, which claimed that volunteers in Rio 2016 had created a new culture of volunteering for Brazil with increased national self-esteem (IOC, 2016), some media outlets reported serious flaws and problems occurred with the volunteer program during the Rio 2016 Games. By the end of the first week of the Games, many volunteers stopped showing up to their assigned places because many felt they were working shift hours that were too long, they struggled with chaotic schedules and received little or no food (Ghincul, 2016). Also, it was reported that the shortage and the lack of training of some volunteers affected the normal operation of some venues, such as the doping control testing area and some entrances to the stadium during the opening ceremony (Zimbalist, 2016).

The findings of this study provide many practical implications for volunteer managers and sport event organizers. The current study identified that POS is positively associated with volunteer outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, attitude and continuance intention). Thus, properly structured volunteer support by the organization can enhance organizational performance while contributing to the positive development of individual well-being (Morrow-Howell et al., 2009). Specifically, volunteer-related HRM practices, such as training, on-the-job support and feedback, choice of volunteer tasks and schedule, rewards and recognition, should be properly considered and designed when working with volunteers (Alfes et al., 2017; Wicker, 2017).

Moreover, event organizers should also consider volunteers' demographic profiles (i.e. age). The finding of this study identified that the role of POS in affecting attitude might differ between younger adults and older adults. As such, different volunteer-related HRM practices need to be designed for volunteers of different ages. For younger volunteers, their perception of organizational support may be more important. Therefore, various tangible and intangible supports need to offer to younger volunteers. For example, event organizers can arrange parties or luncheons and establish volunteer reword programs to appreciate volunteers' effort. Moreover, volunteer supervisors can provide regular consultations for younger volunteers to provide emotional and information support. Doing so can help younger volunteers establish positive and favorable attitudes toward volunteering, which ultimately increase participation in future volunteer activities.

On the other hand, the role of job satisfaction in continuance intention is more salient for older volunteers. Therefore, fulfilling expectations for older volunteers to increase their job-related satisfaction level is necessary as it can further increase their intention to volunteer at future events. During the event, event organizers and supervisors could implement skill development practices and social activities tailored to older volunteers' needs and wants (Armstrong-Stassen and Ursel, 2009). It has been found that older volunteers involve in sport volunteering as an opportunity to use their skills and establish social networks (Hamm-Kerwin et al., 2009). As such, event organizers need to assign jobs/duties, which fit older volunteers' skills and regularly hold social activities for older volunteers to increase their social interaction with other volunteers and supervisors.

Limitations and future research

Although this study provides various insightful theoretical and practical implications, there are not without limitations. First, while this study large sample size (4,824 responses) is one of its strongest points, the inherent limitation of a quantitative approach needs to be noted. Other qualitative techniques, such as in-depth interviews, journaling or open questions, would lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the influence of POS on volunteer outcomes. Second, as previously mentioned, other variables, such as psychological contract breach, should be considered (Walker et al., 2016) and need to be concurrently examined to investigate the relative importance of POS in comparison to other critical variables in the context of episodic volunteers. Finally, individuals' perception of organizational support was measured by the unidimensional scale. The future study needs to explore both task- and emotion-oriented organizational support (Alfes et al., 2016) in order to better understand the influence of POS on volunteers' attitudinal and behavioral outcomes.

Figures

Figure 1

Research model

Figure 2

Research model with coefficients and t-values

Table 1

Demographics of respondents (N = 4,824)

Characteristics	n	%
Gender
Male	2,166	44.9
Female	2,658	55.1
Age (Mean = 39.87, SD = 14.33)
17–19 years	184	3.8
20–29 years	1,279	26.5
30–39 years	1,125	23.3
40–49 years	792	16.4
50–59 years	918	19.0
Above 60 years	526	10.9
Ethnicity
White	2,919	60.5
White and Black African	1,157	24.0
Black	397	8.2
Asian	124	2.6
Indian	38	0.8
Other ethnic groups	82	1.7
Prefer not to say	107	2.2
Employment situation
Full-time	2,010	41.7
Part-time	443	9.2
Freelancer	303	6.3
Retiree	507	10.5
Student	555	11.5
Unemployment	596	12.6
Other	400	8.3
Income
Up to R$ 1,760 per month	997	20.7
Between R$ 1.760 and R$ 3.520	874	18.1
Between R$ 3.520 and R$ 8.880	996	20.6
Between R$ 8,880 and R$ 17,600	469	9.7
More than R$ 17,600	190	3.9
Prefer not to say	576	11.9
Country of residence
Brazil	4,102	85.03
Non-Brazil	722	14.97
Volunteer experience
Yes	3,069	63.6
No	1,755	36.4
Past volunteer area (multiple answer questions)
Sport events	649	13.5
Schools or educational settings	575	11.9
Charitable organization (e.g. Exfam)	401	8.3
Community association (e.g. Lions, Rotary)	196	4.1
Church or religious group	576	11.9
Festival or cultural events (e.g. art, entertainment)	384	8
Hospital or medical services	197	4.1
Environmental activities	213	4.4
Welfare organization	398	8.3
Others	209	4.3
Volunteer stage during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games (multiple answer questions)
Pre-Olympic Games	948	19.7
Olympic Games	4,189	86.8
Paralympic Games	2,573	53.3

Table 2

Survey items and measurement model assessment

Constructs/Items	Factor loadings	rho_A	AVE	CR
Perceived organizational support
POS1	0.774	0.823	0.608	0.823
POS2	0.790
POS3	0.775
Job satisfaction
SAT1	0.762	0.793	0.560	0.792
SAT2	0.710
SAT3	0.772
Attitude
ATT1	0.761	0.811	0.583	0.802
ATT2	0.745
ATT3*	–
ATT4	0.652
ATT5*	–
ATT6*	–

Note(s): *Items are removed due to low factor loadings

Table 3

Discriminant validity (HTMT and Fornell–Larker criterion)

Constructs	1	2	3	4
1. POS	0.780	0.658	0.388	0.289
2. SAT	0.658	0.748	0.457	0.306
3. ATT	0.386	0.455	0.763	0.320
4. INT	0.289	0.307	0.319	1

Note(s): POS = Perceived organizational support; SAT = Job satisfaction; ATT = Attitude, INT = Continuance intention; criterion; Values below the diagonal mean intercorrelations between constructs; Bold values mean the square root of average variance extracted; Italic values denote the HTMT values

Table 4

Results of structural paths

Hypotheses	Structural paths	Standardized coefficient (β)	SD	t-value
H1	POS → INT	0.120	0.025	4.814***
H2	POS → ATT	0.153	0.026	5.790***
H3	POS → SAT	0.658	0.014	46.368***
H4	SAT → ATT	0.354	0.028	12.626***
H5	ATT → INT	0.213	0.022	9.846***
H6	SAT → INT	0.131	0.026	5.024***

Note(s): POS = Perceived organizational support; SAT = Job satisfaction; ATT = Attitude, INT = Continuance intention. ***p < 0.001

Table 5

Results of independent t-tests

Construct	Mean (SD)		t-value
	Older group (> 40)	Younger group (≤ 39)
POS	3.846 (1.031)	3.828 (0.994)	0.601
SAT	4.101 (0.907)	4.150 (0.845)	−1.96*
ATT	4.728 (0.497)	4.809 (0407)	−6.206***
INT	3.870 (0.888)	3.881 (0.893)	−0.418

Note(s): POS = Perceived organizational support; SAT = Job satisfaction; ATT = Attitude, INT = Continuance intention, *p < 0.05, ***p < 0.001

Table 6

Path coefficients, t-value and results of PLS-MGA between the older group and younger group

Paths		Path coefficient (t-value)	Path coefficients differences	p-values	Remarks
POS → INT	Older group	0.109 (4.176***)	0.035	0.836	–
	Younger group	0.143 (5.986***)
POS → ATT	Older group	0.127 (4.562***)	0.079	0.988	Younger group > Older group
	Younger group	0.205 (9.468***)
POS → SAT	Older group	0.538 (32.707***)	0.010	0.329	–
	Younger group	0.528 (35.524***)
SAT → ATT	Older group	0.258 (8.479***)	0.023	0.726	–
	Younger group	0.281 (12.346***)
ATT → INT	Older group	0.185 (7.213***)	0.028	0.783	–
	Younger group	0.213 (8.538***)
SAT → INT	Older group	0.174 (6.545***)	0.075	0.020	Older group > Younger group
	Younger group	0.099 (4.027***)

Note(s): Italics values are significant. POS = Perceived organizational support; SAT = Job satisfaction; ATT = Attitude, INT = Continuance intention. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Constructs/Items		Mean	SD
Perceived organizational support
POS1	The support and recognition you received from paid staff	3.74	1.20
POS2	The support and recognition you received from volunteer team leader(s)	3.98	1.15
POS3	Recognition of your efforts (e.g. pin badges, certificate, baton)	3.81	1.15
Job satisfaction
SAT1	Your job assignment	4.24	1.00
SAT2	The number of shifts allocated	4.10	1.03
SAT3	How efficiently your time was used during your shifts	4.04	1.09
Attitude
ATT1	Worthwhile	4.83	0.47
ATT2	Good	4.81	0.32
ATT3	Boring*	1.46	0.81
ATT4	Pleasant	4.65	0.066
ATT5	Foolish*	1.29	0.69
ATT6	Enjoyable*	4.46	1.08
Continuance intention
INT1	Having volunteered at the Rio 2016 Games, in the next 12 months, do you think you will do more or less volunteering than you did in the 12 months prior to the Rio 2016 Games?	3.88	0.89

Note(s): ^*Items are removed due to low factor loadings

Note

1. From 2000 to 2016, Brazil hosted the 2002 South American Games, 2007 Pan American Games, 2011 Military World Games, 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2014 FIFA World Cup; Rio 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games (Bravo and Haas, 2020).

Appendix

Scale items and basic statistics