Role Identity, Organizational Experiences, and Volunteer Performance

The central focus of this research is on the development and testing of a theoretical framework to understand performance and retention of volunteers. The framework is centered on identity theory and includes both general and specific role identity as well as organizational variables. Data were obtained from two samples of volunteers for the American Cancer Society (ACS). Specific role identity as an ACS volunteer is predicted from general role identity and several factors related to perceived experiences in the organization. Specific role identity explains significant amounts of variance in the number of hours worked for ACS and other organizations as well as intent to remain an ACS volunteer. Results also suggest that volunteers may experience conflicts between the demands of their general and specific role identities. Finally, the effects of ACS role identity on volunteer behavior are compared with those of organizational commitment.

[1]  S. Worchel,et al.  Psychology of intergroup relations , 1986 .

[2]  Daryl J. Bem,et al.  Template matching: A proposal for probing the ecological validity of experimental settings in social psychology. , 1979 .

[3]  Bruce Buchanan.  BUILDING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT: THE SOCIALIZATION OF MANAGERS IN WORK ORGANIZATIONS , 1974 .

[4]  Celia V. Harquail,et al.  Organizational images and member identification. , 1994 .

[5]  Mark Snyder,et al.  A functional analysis of altruism and prosocial behavior , 1991 .

[6]  Richard T. Serpe,et al.  Identity salience and psychological centrality: Equivalent, overlapping, or complementary concepts? , 1994 .

[7]  Doug McAdam,et al.  Specifying the Relationship Between Social Ties and Activism , 1993, American Journal of Sociology.

[8]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , 1977 .

[9]  J. Dovidio,et al.  The psychology of helping and altruism: Problems and puzzles. , 1995 .

[10]  J. Piliavin,et al.  Donorism. (Book Reviews: Giving Blood. The Development of an Altruistic Identity.) , 1992 .

[11]  J. Mathieu,et al.  A review and meta-analysis of the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of organizational commitment , 1990 .

[12]  Timothy Jon Curry,et al.  Sport Identity Salience, Commitment, and the Involvement of Self in Role: Measurement Issues , 1987 .

[13]  Jennifer A. Chatman,et al.  Organizational commitment and psychological attachment: The effects of compliance, identification, and internalization on prosocial behavior. , 1986 .

[14]  James C. Anderson,et al.  STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING IN PRACTICE: A REVIEW AND RECOMMENDED TWO-STEP APPROACH , 1988 .

[15]  Mark Snyder,et al.  The Effects of “Mandatory Volunteerism” on Intentions to Volunteer , 1999 .

[16]  P. Callero,et al.  Role-identity salience , 1985 .

[17]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Social identity theory and the organization , 1989 .

[18]  H. Becker.  Notes on the Concept of Commitment , 1960, American Journal of Sociology.

[19]  Jennifer A. Chatman.  Matching People and Organizations: Selection and Socialization in Public Accounting Firms , 1989 .

[20]  David A. Harrison,et al.  Volunteer Motivation and Attendance Decisions: Competitive Theory Testing in Multiple Samples From a Homeless Shelter , 1995 .

[21]  P. Callero,et al.  Helping behavior as role behavior: Disclosing social structure and history in the analysis of prosocial action. , 1987 .

[22]  Ralph H. Turner,et al.  The Role and the Person , 1978, American Journal of Sociology.

[23]  P. Callero,et al.  Role identity and reasoned action in the prediction of repeated behavior , 1988 .

[24]  M. Wiley,et al.  GENDER, WORK, AND STRESS: The Potential Impact of Role-Identity Salience And Commitment , 1991 .

[25]  Arthur A. Stukas,et al.  PERSONALITY PROCESSES AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES Understanding and Assessing the Motivations of Volunteers: A Functional Approach , 2004 .

[26]  I. Ajzen,et al.  Attitude-behavior relations: A theoretical analysis and review of empirical research. , 1977 .

[27]  Jone L. Pearce,et al.  Volunteers: The Organizational Behavior of Unpaid Workers , 1993 .

[28]  John P. Meyer,et al.  Testing the "Side-Bet Theory" of Organizational Commitment: Some Methodological Considerations , 1984 .

[29]  Nestor K. Ovalle,et al.  A review and meta-analysis of research on the relationship between behavioral intentions and employee turnover. , 1984 .

[30]  Mark Snyder,et al.  Basic Research in Action , 1990 .

[31]  R. Bagozzi,et al.  On the evaluation of structural equation models , 1988 .

[32]  George J. McCall,et al.  Identities and interactions , 1966 .

[33]  H. Markus,et al.  THE DYNAMIC SELF-CONCEPT: A Social Psychological Perspective , 1987 .

[34]  V. Hodgkinson,et al.  Giving and volunteering in the United States , 1990 .

[35]  J. Piliavin,et al.  Giving time, money, and blood: Similarities and differences. , 1999 .

[36]  E. Gil Clary,et al.  The Amount and Effectiveness of Help: The Relationship of Motives and Abilities to Helping Behavior , 1991 .

[37]  David C. Funder,et al.  Predicting more of the people more of the time: Assessing the personality of situations. , 1978 .

[38]  M. Snyder,et al.  Volunteerism and Society's Response to the HIV Epidemic , 1992 .

[39]  P. Burke,et al.  Ethnic Role Identity among Black and White College Students , 1987 .

[40]  Fred A. Mael,et al.  Alumni and their alma mater: A partial test of the reformulated model of organizational identification , 1992 .

[41]  M. Finkelstein,et al.  Dispositional and structural determinants of volunteerism , 1998 .

[42]  H. Becker,et al.  Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. , 1964 .