How can NGOs prevent volunteers from quitting? The moderating role of the NGO type

Abstract

Purpose

The rise of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) during the last decades has made the volunteer a key element. Motivation and satisfaction have been indicated as predictive indices of their retention. The purpose of this paper is twofold. On the one hand, it seeks to better understand the motivations of the volunteers, addressing the effects of such motivations. On the other hand, it analyses whether the intensity of such antecedents and effects differs depending on the type of NGO with which they work: generalist vs specialist.

Design/methodology/approach

A study with 847 volunteers from different types of NGOs was done using structural modelling methodology and multi-sample analysis.

Findings

The type of NGO moderates the relationship between the satisfaction of the volunteer and the intention to recommend.

Practical implications

Given that in specialist NGOs the impact of satisfaction on the intention to recommend is significantly stronger than in generalist NGOs, making sure that volunteers are satisfied becomes a priority in this type of NGO. In this regard, satisfaction studies among volunteers could be conducted periodically to detect crisis situations and implement improvement actions to recover satisfaction in the occupied position.

Originality/value

First, to date, the motivations of the volunteer have been investigated from different disciplines, the self-determination theory (SDT) being an important motivational theory widely used in areas such as social, education and sports psychology. However, there is little research from a marketing approach to understand the background of the motivations of volunteers under this conceptual framework provided by the SDT. Second, there is also a scarcity of literature linking the motivations of a volunteer with the emotions they may feel, ultimately achieving consolidated lasting links with the NGO in which they are integrated. Third, most research on volunteering to date has focused on differentiating volunteers from non-volunteers and understanding the reasons for volunteering. However, the presence of studies on the differences in the motivation of the same according to the type of NGO with which they collaborate has been scarce.

Citation

Lorente-Ayala, J.M., Vila-Lopez, N. and Kuster-Boluda, I. (2020), "How can NGOs prevent volunteers from quitting? The moderating role of the NGO type", Management Decision, Vol. 58 No. 2, pp. 201-220. https://doi.org/10.1108/MD-04-2019-0531