Servant Leadership, Volunteer Retention, and Organizational Citizenship Behavior in Nonprofit Organizations: Examining the Mediating Role of Job Satisfaction

Abstract

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) face great challenges in attracting and retaining volunteers due to the short-term nature of most voluntary posts. This study examines the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relationship between servant leadership and volunteer retention and organizational citizenship behavior in NPOs among university students in the context of a developing nation. The Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) approach reveals that job satisfaction is the most important predictor of volunteer retention in NPOs. Moreover, the significantly mediating effects of job satisfaction on the relationship between servant leadership and volunteer retention and organizational citizenship behavior in NPOs is evinced. Volunteers report being highly satisfied with the NPOs’ communication of their vision and mission and confirm that they are provided with support networks when volunteer-related problems occur and when they are autonomous in fulfilling their volunteer assignments.