Management practices matter: understanding volunteers’ memories at the Youth Olympic Games*

Abstract

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to understand the memories of Youth Olympic Games (YOG) volunteers long after their participatory experiences and how the volunteer managerial practices constructed those memories. Methodology: Focus groups were used in combination with document analysis to further investigate how the volunteer management practices at the Nanjing 2014 construct the current volunteer memory of YOG experience. Three focus groups with a total of 14 participants were conducted in September 2018. Findings: Involvement- and interaction-related practices have been identified as essential factors in shaping memories, while tangible souvenirs are vital in retrieving these memories in the long term. It confirms that volunteers remembered self-generated and entertaining activities best, referring to the generation and humor effect of memory. Practical implications: Results have implications for informing future volunteer management practices in nurturing young individuals’ memory, which is particularly important for events that aim to empower young people far in the long term as a volunteer legacy. Research contribution: The application of the memory concept brings new insights into the theoretical foundations of mega sport volunteering studies. Further, this research contributes to an essential subject on the Youth Olympic Games by adopting the Asian case of Nanjing 2014 four years after the event conclusion.