Understanding informal volunteer behavior for fast and resilient disaster recovery: an application of entrepreneurial effectuation theory

PurposeExamine and understand how an informal volunteer’s goals and actions develop from the moment they first learn about a disaster.Design/methodology/approachWe examine informal volunteerism (the activities of people who work outside of formal emergency and disaster management arrangements) through the theoretical lens of entrepreneurial effectuation to explain informal volunteer behavior and cognition and gain insight on how they develop their disaster relief ventures.FindingsWe find that informal volunteers follow an effectual logic, relying on available means to take advantage of opportunities as they are recognized or created. Application of effectuation vs causation processes depended on whether the informal volunteers were categorized as traditional, emergent or extended volunteers.Practical implicationsInformal volunteers’ disregard for the Affordable Loss Principle task governments and disaster relief organizations with the important challenge of managing and assuring the safety and well-being of informal volunteers. Their entrepreneurial behavior also invites the establishment of formal processes to counsel and guide informal volunteers, helping them fill out the necessary paperwork and funding applications to develop their efforts.Social implicationsThrough their experimentation and flexibility, informal volunteers accelerate disaster recovery, recognizing opportunities, working around bureaucracy and other roadblocks that hinder the efforts of established organizations. They also demonstrate entrepreneurial behavior that helps revitalize and jumpstart the local economy, making for stronger and more resilient communitiesOriginality/valueThis study borrows from Effectuation Theory from the entrepreneurship field in order to bring a much needed theoretical lens to the topic and greatly assists informal volunteerism research, moving from past efforts that simply define and categorize the concept.

Physical and Social Perceptions of the Neighbourhood and Youth Volunteerism: Canada’s Capital Region

Youth are embedded within various ecological systems that may impact their philanthropic behaviour. This study employed online data from a sample of undergraduate students and traced the various pathways through which neighbourhood perceptions (e.g., social cohesion, satisfaction with amenities) related to formal and informal volunteering intensities. Path analyses revealed that neighbourhood cohesion directly predicted formal and informal volunteer frequency; as well, it mediated the relationship between satisfaction with neighbourhood amenities and informal volunteerism. Neighbourhood cohesion was strongly associated with informal volunteer intensity, whereas satisfaction with neighbourhood attractiveness did not relate to any volunteer outcomes. Neighbourhood characteristics may be important drivers of youth volunteerism, and thus stakeholders, organizations, and individuals should consider the impact of the social environmental context on shaping youths’ helping behaviour.Les jeunes font partie de divers systèmes écologiques qui peuvent influencer leur comportement philanthropique. Cette étude utilise des données recueillies en ligne à partir d’un échantillon d’étudiants de premier cycle afin de retracer les divers parcours par lesquels leur perception de leur quartier (par exemple, sa cohésion sociale, leur satisfaction par rapport aux services offerts) a une incidence sur leurs activités bénévoles formelles et informelles. L’analyse révèle que la cohésion sociale a comme effet d’augmenter le bénévolat formel et informel. En outre, la cohésion semble augmenter le bénévolat informel là où il y a satisfaction par rapport aux services offerts dans la communauté. En effet, il y a une forte corrélation entre la cohésion d’un quartier et le bénévolat informel. En revanche, la satisfaction à l’égard du pittoresque d’un quartier ne paraît pas avoir d’incidence sur le niveau d’implication philanthropique. Il n’empêche qu’en général un bon quartier peut motiver les jeunes à faire du bénévolat. Ainsi, les parties prenantes, les organisations et les individus devraient tenir compte du contexte socioenvironnemental sur le comportement philanthropique des jeunes.