Human resource management practices to support sport event volunteers

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a study that explored the relationship between two specific elements of HRM (perceived organizational support (POS) and perceived supervisor support (PSS)) and the affective commitment (AC) and satisfaction of volunteers involved in a community cycling event. The findings indicate that volunteers' satisfaction can be attributed more to the informal support (or lack thereof) provided by their supervisor (PSS) than the formal procedures implemented by the organization (POS). Volunteers' AC however, can be attributed more to POS than PSS. These results suggest that for some volunteers the supervisor may embody the organization; the support provided by the supervisor on the day of an event can become more important than support provided by the organization prior to the event. A poor supervisor's performance in providing the requisite support may therefore impact more on a volunteer's satisfaction than any failings (or otherwise) of the overall HRM system.