the three-stage model of volunteers' duration of service

THE THREE-STAGE MODEL OF VOLUNTEERS’ DURATION OF SERVICE

Fernando ChaCón, María Luisa VeCina, and María CeLeste dáViLa

Complutense University, Madrid, Spain

The main objective of this paper was to describe the latest results of a longitudinal study carried out by our research team with a sample of social work volunteers, whose one-year follow-up has just been completed, allowing us to draw up what we have called the “Three-stage model of volunteers’ duration”. Use of this model overcomes some of the apparent contradictions between the different models of volunteerism. For example, for the Functional Model, motivations, and more specifically their satisfaction, would be the best predictors of service duration, however, for the Role Identity Model, what best predicts service duration would be role identity. We assume that in the initial phase of volunteerism, motivations and their satisfaction are more closely related to service duration than role identity. Nevertheless, to predict longer duration of service and greater involvement, the fundamental variable is organizational commitment. Finally, the Role Identity Model is that which best explains sustained volunteerism. Instruments used included the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979) reduced and adapted by Dávila & Chacón, and The Role Identity Scale (Grube & Pilavin, 2000, adapted by Dávila & Chacón, 2004).

Keywords: volunteerism, service duration, motivations, satisfaction, organizational commitment, role identity, behavioral intention.

Regarding volunteerism, there are two practical and important questions. First, how do you attract volunteers to join an organization? Second, how do you keep them for a long time? We address the second one because of the high drop-out

SOCIAL BEHAVIOR AND PERSONALITY, 2007, 35(5), 627-642© Society for Personality Research (Inc.)

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Fernando Chacón, PhD, Professor, María Luisa Vecina, PhD, Assistant Professor, and María Celeste Dávila, PhD, Investigator, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University, Campus de Somosaguas, Madrid, Spain.Appreciation is due to reviewers including: Maura Pozzi Ricercatore, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Universita Cattolica di Milano, Largo Gemelli 1, Milano 20123, Italy, Email: [email protected] address correspondence and reprint requests to: Fernando Chacón or María Luisa Vecina, Faculty of Psychology, Complutense University, Campus de Somosaguas 28223, Madrid, Spain. Phone: +34 913 943097; Fax: +34 913 943189; Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

THREE-STAGE MODEL OF VOLUNTEERS’ DURATION628

rates among volunteers and because stability is the main definitive characteristic of volunteerism.

The number of people who freely decide to offer some kind of help or service to others, theoretically unknown to them, without receiving or expecting any economic reward, and in the context of formally constituted nonprofit organizations (Cnaan & Goldberg-Glen, 1991) has undergone great expansion in recent years, and at the same time, a high percentage of people who decide to become volunteers do not maintain their commitment for very long, and soon drop out of the organization they have joined. It is estimated that in Spain only 36% of organizations maintain any sort of stability in their volunteer staff (Cortes, Hernán, & López, 1998). Likewise, other studies speak of drop-out rates in the first year of almost 35-40% (Dávila, 2003; Vecina, 2001).

With regard to its characteristic features, Penner has suggested that “volunteerism has four important attributes that define it and serve to distinguish it from other kinds of prosocial actions” (Penner, 2004, p. 646). Volunteerism is a planned action, it is a long-term behavior, it occurs within an organizational context, and involves “nonobligated” helping (Omoto & Snyder, 1995). The research line we have developed is based on these assumptions and an attempt has been made to integrate empirical results that seem to be contradictory (Chacón, Vecina, & Dávila, 2006; Finkelstein, Penner, & Brannick, 2005; Penner, 2002).

Volunteers’ Duration of serVice is a PlanneD HelPing BeHaVior

In order to study a planned behavior, such as volunteer duration of service, we based our approach on the existing planned behavior models, and specifically on Fishbein and Ajzen’s theories of reasoned action and planned action (Ajzen, 1985, 1991; Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975). These theories hold that the prediction of a planned behavior, on the basis of attitudinal variables, tends to be mediated by the intention to perform that behavior. When they use the term “behavioral intention” these authors assume that people make decisions in a rational way, systematically employing accessible information on the costs and benefits of the behavior and the control they have, or believe they have, over carrying it out (Ajzen, 1985, 1991; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).

It would seem reasonable, therefore, to assume the existence of a close relationship between behavioral intention to remain as a volunteer and actual duration of service. Recently, behavioral intention has been used for predicting joining of volunteer organizations (Okun & Sloane, 2002; Warburton & Terry, 2000), hours dedicated to volunteerism (Greenslade & White, 2005), and actual duration of service in volunteerism (Dávila, 2003; Vecina, 2001; Vecina et al., 2001; Vecina & Chacón, 2005).

THREE-STAGE MODEL OF VOLUNTEERS’ DURATION 629

Volunteering occurs WitHin an organizational context

Volunteers do their work in an organizational context; they do not work independently or in an isolated fashion. In many cases, duration of volunteer service can be understood as duration of service in an organization, so that it is logical to suppose that length of service will be influenced by organizational variables. Although obviously non-profit-making organizations have char-acteristics that distinguish them from other types of organization, it seems reasonable to assume that the main variables influencing duration of service in an organization are similar. For example, Penner pointed out that attitudes towards the organization are determinant in “initial volunteering” (Penner, 2002).

One of the most widely studied variables is organizational commitment, which is defined as identification and involvement with a specific organization, and assumes strong belief in, and acceptance of, its goals and values and the will to make considerable efforts as a member of the organization (Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979). Organizational commitment has been extensively studied within Organizational Psychology, as an essential variable related to employees’ satisfaction and organizational efficacy. However, it has received very little attention in studies on social and community participation. Recently, Montero (2004) has stressed the importance of commitment in the determination of participation levels, as well as the reciprocal influence between the two variables. She identifies seven increasing levels of participation, beginning with positive curiosity without commitment, up to maximum levels of participation and commitment, characteristic of community leaders. From this perspective, commitment is necessary for achieving medium and high levels of participation. In two samples of social work and ecology volunteers, Dávila and Chacón (2004) found that the best predictor of intention to remain was organizational commitment.

Volunteerism is a long-term BeHaVior

Volunteerism, like any reasonably long-term process within life, is a dynamic process (Omoto & Snyder, 1995). The variables which influence a person’s decision to become a volunteer are not necessarily those that lead to a person’s continuing to be a volunteer a year later, and these may be very different from those that convince him or her to continue when five or ten years have passed. The very experience of volunteerism modifies volunteers’ initial motivations, their support network, their self-concept, and so on (Snyder & Omoto, 1999). As Penner argues: “a full understanding of sustained volunteering requires a consideration of situational, dispositional, and structural variables and must have a temporal and dynamic component as well” (Penner, 2004, p. 648). Thus, it is assumed that the relevant variables (e.g., satisfaction, role identity, commitment) are related among themselves and influence one another, and also that their


relationships change over time as the experience of volunteerism increases. We propose that adopting a dynamic and temporal perspective may help to

overcome some of the apparent differences between the different approaches of volunteerism. For example, the functional analysis of volunteers’ motivations proposed by Snyder and his team predicts people will remain as volunteers as long as they satisfy the motivations that are relevant for them (Clary & Snyder, 1991; Clary et al., 1998), whereas the role identity model of Piliavin and colleagues maintains that what best predicts service duration is volunteer role identity (Callero, Howard, & Piliavin, 1987; Charng, Piliavin, & Callero, 1988; Grube & Piliavin, 2000; Piliavin & Callero, 1991).

It is possible to assume that in the initial phase of volunteerism, motivations and their satisfaction are more closely related to service duration than is role identity. A large number of those who enter volunteerism do so because of external and circumstantial factors. Satisfaction depends partly on volunteers’ expectations, motivations, values, and so on, prior to joining an organization, and is therefore related to the extent to which these expectations, motivations, and so on, are satisfied within organization (Clary et al., 1998). Therefore, at first, satisfaction of the motivations is fundamental to duration of service. In other words, it is in the initial phase, in which commitment is still low and volunteer identity has not been able to develop, that the variables proposed by the Functional Model of motivations appear to have most influence.

Moreover, when one embarks on an activity one tends to think more about the positive aspects than the negative ones, but with the passage of time the costs in terms of time, money, burnout, poor personal interaction, and so on, become evident. When this happens we are more likely to find drop-outs among those who are motivated only by external factors, since the benefits obtained may not be sufficient to compensate for the costs that have now become clear, and especially if there are other positive alternatives. To overcome this first phase it is essential that organizational commitment is generated. According to Brickman, commitment is what makes a person assume or continue a course of action when difficulties or positive alternatives would lead them to give it up (Brickman, 1987, p. 2); thus, to predict longer duration of service and greater involvement, the fundamental variable is commitment – in other words, the sensation that one should do things despite the difficulties, because one endorses the organization and its objectives, its people, and so on. When this occurs the relationship between satisfaction and service duration decreases.

Finally, the Role Identity Model is that which best explains sustained volunteerism. In order to reach this stage, and likewise to reach the higher levels of participation in an organization, it is necessary for people to integrate this characteristic into their self-concept – to see themselves as volunteers, activists, leaders, and so on. When the volunteer role becomes part of personal identity,


behaviors are produced and maintained independently of variables such as social norms. In accordance with this, role identity would be more strongly related to long-term service duration.

HyPotHesis of tHe tHree-stage moDel of Volunteers’ Duration

These ideas about what leads to sustained volunteering make up the model called the Three-Stage Model of Volunteers’ Duration. This model can be conceived in terms of the following hypotheses:

H1: Volunteers know better than anyone else the circumstance of their life, and it is they who can best estimate whether they will remain in an organization after a given length of time. This calculation will be the best predictor of actual service duration. The variable that will best predict actual service duration for a given length of time will be behavioral intention to remain for that same period. This hypothesis can be broken down into two:

H1a: Behavioral intention to remain in the short term (six months) will be the best predictor of actual service duration in the short term (six months).

H1b: Behavioral intention to remain in the medium term (twelve months) will be the best predictor of actual service duration in the medium term (twelve months).

H2: The three types of intention, short-, medium- and long-term (twenty-four months), are related among themselves, though the relationships differ in magnitude because the estimations made by volunteers include different aspects depending on the period of reference. For example, a 20-year-old may make a consideration based on his/her current situation (free time between his/her examinations) when asked about his/her intention to remain for the next 6 months, but when he/she is asked about his/her intention to remain for two years, he/she may also include a range of occupational aspects.

H3: This hypothesis refers to the predictors of the three types of intention to remain in the short, medium and long term.

H3a: To have intention to remain during the early months it is necessary to experience high doses of satisfaction with the activity in which one is involved and its context. Satisfaction will be the best predictor of intention to remain in the short term.

H3b: To have intention to remain during the subsequent months, in the second stage (in which the costs involved in volunteer work become evident) it is necessary to generate an affective link with the organization. Organizational commitment will therefore be the best predictor of intention to remain in the medium term (1 year).


H3c: A prolonged period of commitment to an organization contributes to generating the volunteer role identity, that is, the person succeeds in incorporating this characteristic into his or her self-concept. Role identity will therefore be the best predictor of intention to remain in the long term.

H4: Satisfaction, organizational commitment and role identity are variables related among themselves.

METHOD

ParticiPants

Participants were 300 volunteers at Time 0, Time 1 (six months) and Time 2 (twelve months). They worked in 20 social organizations, and had all served less than 18 months in the organization (previous time M = 8.42 months; SD = 4.92). The volunteers of the sample were mostly women (71% women; 29% men) with a high educational level (50% had university qualifications: diploma, degree or doctorate) and dedicated between 1 and 12 hours a week (M = 4.42; SD = 2.63). Thirty-six percent of them were working; 43% were students; 10% were unemployed; 5% were homemakers and 5% were retired. Their mean age was 29 years (SD = 12.53). During the 12-month follow-up, 116 volunteers (39%) dropped out, and mean service duration during the year’s follow-up was 9 months (SD = 4.05).

instruments

General group characteristics In order to examine the sociodemographic char-acteristics of the sample, we asked about age, sex, educational level, current employment situation, hours per week as volunteer, and previous length of time in the organization. Satisfaction We asked volunteers about the following aspects in a Likert-type response format with alternatives ranging from 1 (not at all satisfied) to 7 (total satisfaction):Satisfaction with the task We used an item that describes how people feel when they are totally involved in the task carried out (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Vecina & Chacón, 2005): “When I am working as a volunteer the time just flies by”.Satisfaction with the management of volunteers We included an item asking about the degree of satisfaction with the effort made by the organization to satisfy the motivations and expectations of their volunteers: “I am satisfied with the interest shown by the organization in fitting the available volunteer activities to my preferences, skills and capacities”.Personal satisfaction with the degree of self-efficacy We used the following


item: “I am satisfied with the efficacy with which I perform the tasks I am set”.Organizational Commitment We used the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire (OCQ), created by Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979) in its reduced version of 9 items and adapted to samples of volunteers (Dávila & Chacón, 2003) (I really worry about the future of this organization; My values and the values of the organization are very similar). The response options ranged from 1 (totally disagree) to 7 (totally agree). The alpha coefficient of the scale was 0.87.Role identity as a volunteer In order to operationalize the role identity concept we used a translation of the scale by Grube (Grube & Piliavin, 2000). This instrument was adapted to Spanish samples by Dávila and Chacón (2004) and has five items, of the type Volunteerism is something I often think about or Volunteerism is an important part of my own identity. A Likert-type response format was used, with alternatives ranging from 1 (totally disagree) to 10 (totally agree). The alpha coefficient for this scale was 0.70.Intention to remain This was measured by three different items. Each item asked the volunteers specifically about the probability of continuing with their volunteer work within the organization after 6 months, 1 year and 2 years (scale of 1 to 7, where 1 meant no probability and 7 meant maximum probability).Actual duration of service Six months (Time 1) and 12 months (Time 2) after applying the above measures (Time 0) we collected data about longevity of service (actual duration of service). It ranged from 0 to 6 and from 0 to 12 months.

ProceDure

The independent variables (satisfaction, organizational commitment, role identity, and intention to remain) were all assessed at the same time (Time 0). Six months (Time 1) and 12 months (Time 2) after the measures of the independent variables were taken we carried out a telephone follow-up on actual duration of service, in which volunteers were asked whether or not they were still with the organization and, if not, the date on which they left it.

RESULTS

We carried out the analyses using SPSS for Windows (version 12.0.1) and Amos (version 12.0). As a preliminary analysis we calculated the correlations matrix between remaining at 6 and 12 months (actual duration service), the three types of intention (short, medium and long term), satisfaction, commitment and role identity.

Table 1 shows that all the correlations are significant, but the highest correlations with Actual Service Duration both at 6 months and at 1 year correspond to the


three types of intention. Besides, the correlation between the intention to remain at 6 months and actual service duration at 6 months is higher than the correlation between the intention to remain at 6 months and actual service duration at 12 months, and the correlation between the intention to remain at 12 months and actual service duration at 12 months higher than the correlation between the intention to remain at 12 months and actual service duration at 6 months.

Table 1correlations BetWeen actual serVice Duration at 6 anD 12 montHs anD intention to

remain, satisfaction, organizational commitment anD role iDentity

Actual Actual Intention Intention Intention Satisfaction Organizational Role Time Time Commitment Identity 6 12 6 12 24

months

Real Time 6 months 1 .895** .490** .502** .431** .211** .292** .220**

12 months 1 .475** .546** .504** .190** .334** .292**

Note: **p < .01.

To test Hypothesis 1a we carried out a path analysis with the three behavioral intentions of remaining, in the short, medium and long term as predictor variables, and actual service duration at six months as dependent variable. As can be seen (Figure 1), intention in the short term is that which shows the strongest relationship to actual service duration at six months. About the global indexes of the fit of the model, the indexes point toward the goodness of fit of the model. The statistic c2 yielded a value of 0.134 and its associated p-value, p (gl = 1) =

INTENTION6 months

INTENTION1 year

INTENTION2 years

ACTUAL TIME6 months

.737

.812

.247 p = .013

.263 p = .000

ns

54%

66%

28.5%

c2 = .134; p = .714AGFI = .998RMR = .007RMSEA = .000

Figure 1. Relationship between behavioral intention to remain and actual service duration in the short term (six months).


.0714, does not lead to rejection of the restrictions of the model. The value of the adjusted goodness-of-fit index (AGFI) is over .95 (.998), as is the incremental fit indexes (NNFI = .998; IFI = .998; CFI = .998). The root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) is .000.

To test Hypothesis 1b we repeated the same path analysis, but using remaining at 12 months as the dependent variable. In this case (Figure 2), intention to remain at 1 year (medium term) is that which shows the strongest relationship. The global indexes of the fit of the model point toward the goodness of fit of the model too (c2 = .134; p = .714; AGFI = .998; RMR = .008; RMSEA = .000).

Figure 2: Relationship between behavioral intention to remain and actual service duration in the medium term (twelve months).

Figure 3. Alternative model of the relationship between behavioral intention to remain and actual service duration in the medium term.

INTENTION6 months

INTENTION1 year

INTENTION2 years

ACTUAL TIME12 months

.737

.812

.247 p = .004

.162 p = .021

.181 p

= .0

26

54%

66%

32.1%

c2 = .134; p = .714AGFI = .998RMR = .008RMSEA = .000

SATISFACTION

ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

ROLE IDENTITY

ACTUAL TIME12-month follow-up

.344

.470

.243 p = .000

ns

.160 p

= .0

09

11.8%

22.1%

13.4%

c2 = 19.33; p = .000AGFI = .696RMR = .128RMSEA = .248


In order to confirm that behavioral intention is indeed the best predictor of service duration, we carried out an alternative path analysis introducing other possible variables for predicting service duration, such as satisfaction, commitment and role identity. The indices of fit of the model were found to be notably poorer, and the percentages of explained variance lower (c2 = 19.33; p = .000; AGFI = .696; RMR = .128; RMSEA = .248).

The three types of intention to remain are related among themselves, as Hypothesis 2 points out and the following correlations matrix shows. All the relationships between intentions are high and significant at the 0.01 level.

Table 2correlations BetWeen tHe tHree tyPes of intention

Intention 6 months Intention 12 months Intention 24 months

Intention 6 1 Intention 12 .737** 1 Intention 24 .590** .812** 1

Note: **p < .01

In order to confirm all the hypotheses of the model (Hypotheses 3 and 4) we carried out two path analyses using as the dependent variable the first duration of service at six months (model 6 months), and subsequently duration of service at twelve months (model 12 months) (Figures 4 and 5). The indexes of fit in both models suggest an acceptable level of fit: Model 6 months (c2 = 33.46; p = .056; AGFI = .952; RMR = .069; RMSEA = .042) and Model 12 months (c2 = 37.26; p = .022; AGFI = .947; RMR = .137; RMSEA = .048).

INTENTION6 months

INTENTION1 year

INTENTION2 years

ACTUAL TIME6 months

.658

.766

.246

p = .012

.264 p = .000

.074

p =

.370

58%

67.4%

28.4%

c2 = 33.46; p = .056AGFI = .952RMR = .069RMSEA = .042


22.3%

p = .000

p = .000

ROLEIDENTITY

SATISFACTION.472

p = .000

.218

p = .000

.155

p = .000

.732

.470

.524

Figure 4: The Three-Stage Model of Volunteers’ Duration (6 months).


Analyzing the significance of the proposed relationships we can see (Figures 4 and 5) that, as hypothesized, the best predictor of service duration at 6 months is intention at 6 months, and the best predictor of service duration at 12 months is intention at 12 months.

Analyzing the percentages of explained variance and standardized regression weights of the relationships between the variables, it can be seen that actual service duration at the 6-month follow-up is explained in 28.4%, and that actual service duration at the 12-month follow-up is explained in 31.9%. As regards predictors of the three types of intention, it is observed that satisfaction explains 22.36% of intention to remain for 6 months, and that intention, along with organizational commitment, explain 58% of the variance of intention to remain for 1 year. Finally, intention to remain for 1 year and volunteer role identity together explain 67.4% of intention to remain for 2 years.

From the results described it can be concluded that the proposed model provides a reasonably good fit to the data from a sample of 300 social work volunteers who had been working in their respective organizations for less than 18 months, and although many other models may also fit the data, there appear to be sufficient indications to state that the best predictor of actual service duration is volunteers’ own intention to remain. It is, therefore, volunteers’ own estimation of their probability of continuing in the organization, and not other variables of a psychological or organizational nature, that best and most directly predicts actual longevity of service. Likewise, it would seem that, as hypothesized, the predictors of each type of intention are different, which would indicate that the variables influencing service duration in the short term are different from those that influence it in the medium and long term. It appears, then, that the basic

INTENTION6 months

INTENTION1 year

INTENTION2 years

ACTUAL TIME12 months

.658

.766

.278

p = .003.163 p = .020

.180

p =

.026

58%

67.4%

31.9%

c2 = 37.26; p = .022AGFI = .947RMR = .137RMSEA = .048


22.3%

p = .000

p = .000

ROLEIDENTITY

SATISFACTION.472

p = .000

.218

p = .000

.155

p = .000

.732

.470

.524

Figure 5: The Three-Stage Model of Volunteers’ Duration (12 months).


variables related to service duration vary as the participation process advances in the time dimension.

DISCUSSION

The data from this study show that, as in the case of other planned behaviors, the best predictor of duration of volunteering is behavioral intention. Intention to continue functions as a kind of catalyst capable of summarizing the influence of different variables. It is to be expected, and it has indeed been confirmed in this study, that each type of intention is maximally related to service duration in the same period of time. As emerges from studies on the relationship between attitude and behavior (Ajzen, 1985; Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975), measurement of behavioral intention and of behavior itself should take place in situations of maximum correspondence.

In support of Penner’s idea (2002), a combination of the functional and role identity approaches might explain the processes underlying helping behavior. Integrating variables from both approaches: satisfaction, organizational commitment and role identity, our model succeeds in predicting a large part of volunteer service duration, both short term and long term, but this influence is mediated by intention to remain. In line with the dynamic perspective, which maintains that relationships between the variables are modified through the experience of volunteerism itself, the weight of these variables differs depending on whether we are assessing service duration in the short or the long term. Satisfaction is more relevant for predicting duration of service in the short term, while organizational commitment and role identity are more relevant for predictions in relation to the medium and long term.

A review of the references reveals a fair degree of consensus on the role played by organizational commitment, and especially by role identity (Finkelstein et al., 2005; Grube & Piliavin, 2000), though the findings on the roles of satisfaction and motivations, as Finkelstein et al. (2005) note, are not so clear: “Existing data on the effect of satisfaction on volunteering are equivocal” (p. 404); moreover, and contradicting the results of Omoto and Snyder (1995), of Clary and colleagues (1998), and of Penner and Finkelstein (1998), Davis, Hall, and Meyer (2003) find that motive fulfillment did predict satisfaction, but satisfaction did not predict whether or not one persisted in volunteering. The model we present may help to reconcile these apparently contradictory findings. According to our data, satisfaction is not directly related to duration of service, but it is related to behavioral intention to remain, and this is the variable that most influences actual service duration.

Moreover, with regard to the satisfaction variable and its importance for predicting intention to remain and actual service duration, two methodological


points should be considered. The first of these concerns the way in which satisfaction is assessed. The role identity and commitment variables are assessed in a similar way in the different studies. For assessing role identity, the majority of studies use adaptations of the scale by Callero (Callero et al., 1987; Finkelstein et al., 2005; Grube & Piliavin, 2000) with a reliability index of between 0.77 and 0.81. Organizational commitment is usually assessed by means of well established scales such as that of Mowday, Steers, and Porter (1979), or Meyer and colleagues (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Dávila & Chacón, 2003; Meyer & Allen, 1984).

However, the way in which volunteer satisfaction is assessed varies considerably. The majority of studies have concentrated on a single dimension of satisfaction. Omoto and Snyder (1995) assess satisfaction in volunteerism using scales 1 to 7 with adjectives (regarding, important, interesting, etc.) in a similar way to Pearce (Smithson, Pearce, & Amato, 1983), or testing the motives fulfillment (Clary et al., 1998). Tschirhart, Mesch, Perry, Miller, and Lee assess satisfaction with the volunteer experience through a single item (2001). Jamison assesses satisfaction with organizational factors by means of 20 items (2003). Other studies take into account the multidimensional nature of volunteer satisfaction. In this line, Gidron identifies 12 dimensions of volunteer satisfaction (1985) and Galindo-Kuhn and Guzley developed a measure of volunteer job satisfaction that identified four dimensions (2001). We believe the multidimensional perspective on volunteer satisfaction to be the most appropriate, since global satisfaction is influenced by multiple aspects, such as satisfaction with the task, satisfaction with the organization, perceived self-efficacy, or fulfillment of personal motives (values, social, CV improvement, etc.), and a good measure of satisfaction should include all of them. This disparity among studies on volunteerism in the way satisfaction is assessed may partly explain the differences found in the results.

Secondly, explanations of research data on volunteer service duration should take more account of the influence of dispersion of the different variables. In equal conditions, the lower the variability of the variables, the lower the correlations and the lower their predictive capacity. This has sometimes led to the importance of a variable for volunteers being mistakenly identified with the predictive power of that variable. We believe something similar may occur in the case of satisfaction. Volunteer satisfaction is important for the volunteers who remain. Indeed, according to our research data from the one-year follow-up, the satisfaction indices distinguish between those that give up and those that continue (Vecina & Chacón, in press). Nevertheless, in some studies satisfaction did not predict whether or not one persisted in volunteering. This may be due to the fact that variability of satisfaction decreases as length of service increases. Initially, deviation in volunteer satisfaction is high, and at that point the predictive power of satisfaction is high. With the passage of time the volunteers with lower


satisfaction give up, and the dispersion decreases, reducing the predictive power of satisfaction, but not its importance: in fact, when in our sample we compared volunteers with more than two years’ previous service who dropped out in the follow-up and volunteers from this group who remained, differences in satisfaction indices still appear. We consider satisfaction to be important for remaining as a volunteer at all stages, but that it is better for predicting duration of service in the short term than in the long term. It would be necessary to design studies that analyze the evolution of satisfaction from the moment volunteers join an organization in order to properly verify this assumption.

Finally, the interest of this type of applied research resides not so much in the prediction of the number of months and days a volunteer will remain in an organization – a far too ambitious objective – but in the identification of those variables that have a positive or negative influence on longevity of service. The ultimate aim is to generate effective management strategies that remove at least those causes of drop-out attributable to inadequacies in the way the organization is run. From the present study, two initial strategies emerge:

1. If an organization is interested in knowing how long volunteers are going to remain on their programs, the best solution is to ask them directly, since they themselves have the best knowledge of their personal, employment and family circumstances, which means they can make the most reliable estimate in this regard. Moreover, a tacit commitment would thus be established with the organization, which volunteers would most probably attempt to honor.

2. If an organization wishes to increase service duration, strategies focused on increasing volunteers’ satisfaction will have a significant impact in the short term, and will quite probably contribute in the longer term to creating commitment to the organization and volunteer role identity.

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the three-stage model of volunteers' duration of service

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