The quality of volunteers’ motives: Integrating the functional approach and self-determination theory

ABSTRACT

Volunteers’ motives have been differentially linked to various aspects of successful volunteering. Using self-determination theory, we propose that volunteer functions are systematically related to the experience of self-determined versus controlled motivation. This “quality of motivation,” in turn, explains why motives are differentially associated with satisfaction. We conducted two studies: Study 1 (N₁ = 824) addressed motives, quality of motivation, and satisfaction; Study 2 (N₂ = 323) additionally examined function-specific benefits and the extent to which they match volunteers’ motives. Overall, our hypotheses were supported: values, understanding, and social justice motives were positively associated with relatively self-determined motivation (RSM), whereas career, social, protective, and enhancement motives showed negative correlations. The relationships between motives and satisfaction were partially mediated by RSM. Concerning benefits, Study 2 corroborated these findings for values, protective, enhancement, and social justice. This research introduces a new perspective on the quality of volunteers’ motives—with theoretical and practical implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Functional approach
• motivation
• satisfaction
• self-determination theory
• volunteerism

Notes

^1. A fourth type, integrated regulation, represents the highest form of internalized extrinsic motivation: The respective behaviors reflect a person’s integrated sense of self; this quality of motivation, however, is rarely addressed by established instruments.

^2. We also explored mediation models using two parallel mediators (i.e., self-determined motivation and controlled motivation) instead of RSM as a single mediator. The results were equivalent to the findings presented in this article. However, due to collinearity problems (self-determined and controlled motivation are positively correlated), we decided to use RSM as a summarizing index representing the quality of motivation.

^3. Low response rates and attrition might lead to selection biases (e.g., to an over-representation of very satisfied volunteers). According to Graham (2009), however, these effects of selective participation and drop-out need to be very strong in order to seriously affect the validity of the overall correlational findings. The present research did not focus on the level of volunteer satisfaction, but on the relationships between variables.

^4. We checked for biases due to selective dropout and found only one significant difference: Volunteers, who participated at Time 1, but either did not participate at Time 2 or actually participated but did not provide the correct code, showed slightly lower levels of the understanding motive (M = 3.67, SD = 0.80) than the participants who returned at Time 2 and provided the correct code (M = 3.74, SD = 0.78); the effect size of this difference, however, is only small (Cohen’s d = 0.10).

^5. Despite conceptual similarities, intrinsic motivation and identified regulation represent distinct qualities of motivation. An exploratory factor analysis of the eight items clearly resulted in a two-factor solution, with items representing intrinsic motivation and identified regulation, respectively, loading on separate factorial components.

^6. An exploration with respect to Study 2 revealed that, for younger participants (40 years old or younger), the understanding motive was more strongly related to the career motive (r = .62) than for participants aged 50 years or older (r = .39).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Stefan Tomas Güntert

Stefan Tomas Güntert is a Lecturer in Organizational Behavior at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland. He received his PhD from ETH Zurich in 2008. His research interests include work design, work motivation, volunteering, nonprofit management, and self-determination theory. Isabel Theresia Strubel is a doctoral candidate in Social and Organizational Psychology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany. Her research interests include volunteering and justice psychology. Elisabeth Kals holds a Professorship for Social and Organizational Psychology at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. Her research interests are motivation research, including the field of volunteering, justice psychology, and psychology of emotion, conflict resolution and mediation, decision-making in organizations, and other fields of responsible behavior. Theo Wehner is Emeritus Professor for Work and Organizational Psychology at ETH Zurich and Guest Professor at the University of Bremen. His research interests are volunteering and corporate volunteering, human error and psychological aspects of security and safety, the relationship between knowledge and experience, and work psychological aspects of the basic income debate.