Communication, Uncertainty, and Volunteer Membership

Abstract

Approximately 25% of Americans volunteer annually (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2011). As organizational members, they face uncertainty concerning their roles, their relationships, and their organizations (Kramer, 2004). Volunteers likely face different uncertainty management issues than employees who have been the focus of most previous research. Volunteers have a different psychological contract and different motivations than employees (Rousseau, 1990). This study examined issues of uncertainty management of volunteer members in a particular setting, a community choir. In particular, it found that supervisor and peer communication and other internal factors, such as more preparation time and less difficult tasks, were associated with higher levels of certainty for members of a community choir. In addition, higher levels of certainty and additional external factors such as family support for participation and lack of conflicts were associated with higher levels of satisfaction and identification and a greater willingness to recruit for the organization. Results have implications for improving communication to increase volunteers' certainty and increasing their voluntary participation in organizations.

Keywords:

• Uncertainty
• Volunteers
• Membership
• Identification

Acknowledgements

A previous version of this paper was presented at the annual convention of the National Communication Association in New Orleans in November 2011.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael W. Kramer

Michael W. Kramer (PhD, University of Texas) is Chair and Professor in the Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK

Rebecca J. Meisenbach

Rebecca J. Meisenbach (PhD, Purdue) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia, MO

Glenn J. Hansen

Glenn J. Hansen (PhD, University of Missouri) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK