The Role of Dispositional, Organizational and Situational Variables in Volunteering

ABSTRACT

Organizations that promote the plight of a single cause rely heavily on volunteers who are sympathetic to that cause. Therefore, it is important for the management of these organizations to understand the drivers of sustained volunteering. This study explores the prosocial dispositions of volunteers and non-volunteers, and the impact of prosocial personality, organizational and situational factors on the quality of voluntary participation behavior. Results show that both volunteers and non-volunteers display other-oriented characteristics, in particular interpersonal empathy, but volunteers demonstrate more concern for the welfare and quality of life of other individuals. The strongest influence on participation levels was volunteer treatment, followed by the factors that impact on the quality of participation and situational impediments.

KEYWORDS:

• Volunteering
• prosocial disposition
• organizational variables
• situational impediments