The Volunteer Experience in a Para-Sport Event: An Autoethnography

2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik L. Lachance ◽  
Milena M. Parent
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Quantitative Methods ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Holistic Understanding ◽  
Sport Event Volunteers ◽  
Event Managers

Sport event volunteers have predominantly been examined in able-bodied events using quantitative methods. Studies examining the volunteer experience have focused on its relationship with different constructs, resulting in a siloed body of literature in which a holistic understanding of the volunteer experience remains poor. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between key constructs (satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and sense of community) and the first author’s (E.L. Lachance) volunteer experience in a para-sport event. The analysis of the narrative using a volunteer experience conceptual framework composed of the key volunteer constructs identified two themes: (a) the power of sense of community and (b) the volunteer role as a source of dissatisfaction. Contributions include the volunteer experience conceptual framework and the relationships between the four constructs and the volunteer experience. Event managers should implement strategies to create a strong sense of community to enhance their volunteers’ experience.

scholarly journals Exploring sense of community among small-scale sport event volunteers

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Kerwin ◽  
Stacy Warner ◽  
Matthew Walker ◽  
Julie Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Sport Event Volunteers

scholarly journals Using a Sport Event to Create a Sense of Community: Charity Sport Event Manager Perspectives

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-74
Author(s):  
Ebe Daigo ◽  
Kevin Filo
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Event Management ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Online Discussion Forums ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
Event Managers

Charity sport events not only involve completing the activity, but also the opportunity to bring people together. A variety of research has examined charity sport events' capacity to foster a sense of community from the participant point of view. The current research examines sense of community within charity sport events from the event management perspective and advances the following research question: What do charity sport event managers feel they have put in place to create sense of community among participants? To address this research question, qualitative data were collected via interviews with 15 charity sport event managers in Japan. An interview guide comprised of six demographic questions, along with nine questions based upon the sense of community in sport framework was utilized. Five themes were identified within the interviews: charitable contribution, soliciting feedback from participants, interactive event environment, supplementary activities, and lack of competition. Two themes from the sense of community in sport framework that did not emerge across the interviews underscore opportunity for event managers to leverage mobile applications and online discussion forums to engage participant's shared interest in sport, as well as enlist leaders among event participants to serve as advocates. Based on the current results, future research can include managers from the designated charities aligned with events to assess whether the sense of community created within these events leads to long-term benefits for the organization.

It’s Really Not about the Bike: Exploring Attraction and Attachment to the Events of the Lance Armstrong Foundation

2008 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 501-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin R. Filo ◽  
Daniel C. Funk ◽  
Danny O’Brien
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Charitable Giving ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Charitable Organizations ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Event Managers

Participatory sport events have emerged as viable fundraising mechanisms for charitable organizations. This article examines the impact that motives for charitable giving and sport event participation have on charity sport events. The authors examine the factors that attract participants to a charity sport event, while the role of charity in fostering attachment to the event is explored. Focus groups were conducted with charity sport event participants to discuss what motivated their participation. Results revealed that intellectual, social, and competency motives along with the motives of reciprocity, self-esteem, need to help others, and desire to improve the charity contribute to attraction. In addition, the results suggest that the charitable component influences social and competency motives and contributes to the development of attachment to the event. The authors recommend event managers work to foster and leverage the sense of community created through these events.

What Predicts the Sport Event Volunteer Experience? Examining Motivation, Satisfaction, Commitment, and Sense of Community

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik L Lachance ◽  
Jordan T Bakhsh ◽  
Ashley Thompson ◽  
Milena M Parent
Keyword(s):  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Direct Relationship ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Equation Model ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Indirect Relationship ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
Sport Event Volunteers

Despite the large body of literature on sport event volunteers, researchers have a poor understanding of the volunteer experience despite studies claiming direct and indirect relationships involving motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community towards the volunteer experience. In fact, most studies fail to statistically measure experience as a dependent variable. As such, the importance of these four antecedents as predictors of the volunteer experience remains assumed and uncertain. The purpose of this study was to empirically test if and how sport event volunteers’ motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community predict their experience. Following the 2019 Osprey Valley Open, 161 volunteers (65% response rate) completed an online self-administered questionnaire. A two-step structural equation model analysis tested the hypothesized linear relationships. Results indicated direct (i.e., motivation and satisfaction) and indirect (i.e., commitment and sense of community) relationships between antecedents and the volunteer experience. Commitment had an indirect relationship to the volunteer experience through motivation’s direct relationship, while the indirect relationship of sense of community occurred through satisfaction’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience. Confirmatory factor analysis also indicated motivation and sense of community had poor factor loadings, while satisfaction and commitment loaded adequately. Moreover, only the egoistic motivation factor was supported in this study motivation’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience. These findings empirically support previous claims for motivation and satisfaction’s direct relationship to the volunteer experience but dispute previous claims of direct relationships involving sense of community and commitment. Contributions include the need to move beyond investigating individual antecedents of the volunteer experience as it requires a multi-faceted analysis due to conceptual interrelationships. EventCopyright © Cognizant Communication Corporation 3MS 20 088 Event Management E-pubmanagers should understand their volunteers’ experience as being complex and develop strategies aimed at each of the four antecedents.

Understanding the Sport Event Volunteer Experience in the Implementation Mode of a Para-Sport Event: An Autoethnography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik L. Lachance ◽  
Milena M. Parent,
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Role Satisfaction ◽  
Event Data ◽  
Event Management ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Electric Wheelchair ◽  
Strong Emphasis ◽  
Field Notes

Research on volunteerism is one of the largest areas of inquiry within sport event management. Yet, the volunteer experience, as a phenomenon related to four constructs (satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and sense of community), is poorly understood over the course of the event’s lifecycle due to the strong emphasis on quantitative methodologies and cross-sectional designs. Using an autoethnographic approach, the purpose of this study was to understand the volunteer experience in the implementation mode of the event lifecycle. The context of the study was the 2017 Canadian Electric Wheelchair Hockey Association Nationals where the first author collected data through field notes and a personal journal, while the second author acted as an outsider and allowed for peer debriefing to occur. Following the completion of the event, data were thematically analyzed and two key themes were identified: (a) success in assigned role: satisfaction and the volunteer experience, and (b) sense of community: impetus for commitment, motivation, and the volunteer experience. Theoretical contributions of this paper include (1) the transferability of the conceptual framework used in the study, which was originally developed and investigated in the planning mode of the event lifecycle; and (2) the understanding of the volunteer experience during the implementation mode and how it is impacted by its four related constructs. Event managers are encouraged to develop specific strategies touching upon satisfaction, motivation, commitment, and sense of community to enhance their volunteers’ experience.

scholarly journals PREDICTING THE BEHAVIORAL DEPENDABILITY OF SPORT EVENT VOLUNTEERS

2004 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
GRAHAM CUSKELLY ◽  
CHRISTOPHER AULD ◽  
MAUREEN HARRINGTON ◽  
DENIS COLEMAN
Keyword(s):  
Sport Event ◽  
Sport Event Volunteers

Outcomes of the sport event volunteer experience: examining demonstration effects on first-time and returning volunteers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan T. Bakhsh ◽  
Erik L. Lachance ◽  
Ashley Thompson ◽  
Milena M. Parent
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Sport Event ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sport Events ◽  
First Time ◽  
Sport Event Volunteers ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine if sport event volunteers were inspired by their event experience to volunteer in the future.Design/methodology/approachA postevent questionnaire was administered to 161 professional golf tournament volunteers, in which 93 respondents were identified as first-time volunteers of the event and 68 as returning volunteers. A moderation analysis was conducted to assess if previous event-specific volunteer experience moderated the relationship between volunteers' inspiration and future volunteer intentions.FindingsFirst-time event-specific volunteers were significantly more inspired to volunteer again than returning event-specific volunteers. Findings indicate volunteers can be inspired from their event experience toward future volunteer intentions.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers conceptual understandings and new application of inspiration–behavioral intentions by examining sport events' (in)ability to inspire first-time and returning event volunteers to volunteer in the future. Findings are limited to the sport event volunteers' intention discussion.Practical implicationsThis study demonstrates how event stakeholders can create positive future behavioral intentions for community members through hosting sport events. By positioning first-time event-specific volunteers within roles that can elicit inspiration (e.g. interacting with athletes), event managers can foster stronger future volunteer intentions.Originality/valueThis study extends the understanding of demonstration effects by moving beyond the traditional sport event spectators and sport participation intention foci. It demonstrates that sport events can inspire different spectator groups (i.e. event volunteers) toward different future behavioral intentions (i.e. volunteer intentions). Findings address previous sport event volunteer assumptions regarding intention, inspiration and volunteer segments.

scholarly journals Management: Reflections on Diversity and Organizational Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Leadley
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Organizational Development ◽  
Sense Of Community ◽  
Strong Sense ◽  
Teachable Moments ◽  
Robust Approach ◽  
Cultural Competencies ◽  
Diversity Issues ◽  
The University ◽  
College Library

Effectively addressing diversity issues can be a challenge in any organization—yet, when done well, it can manifest as more of an opportunity to foster a strong sense of community and maximize potential within it. In this column, Sarah Leadley maps the robust approach taken at the University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia College Library to develop cultural competencies among staff and establish diversity as a strategic priority. The library’s integrated agenda, grounded in the principles of social justice and built around teachable moments, suggests a noteworthy facet of organizational development that is well worth modeling.

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