Corporate Volunteers Research Articles

Impact of Corporate Volunteers’ Participation in Volunteer Tourism

Sustainable development has become the focus and goal of governments around the world. In the past, economic development was the primary goal, which has caused serious environmental and social problems and has threatened the safety of mankind and its descendants. The "United Nations Sustainable Development Goals" is a project that companies have been paying much attention to with the environment with social, and governance (ESG) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) new trends. The development of corporate volunteers has become a key factor in the success of corporate social responsibility. Therefore, business operators must understand accurately how to strengthen the positive connection between corporate volunteers and brand attachment. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship model between corporate volunteers in Taiwan participating in volunteer tourism, experience value, and brand attachment. We used a purposeful non-probability sampling procedure at a 95% confidence interval and a sampling error of 0.5% (n = 388). Data collection tools included structured questionnaires distributed both online and on paper, targeting individuals who had participated as corporate volunteers and completed domestic volunteer travel. The results indicated that both older and younger corporate volunteers in Taiwan were involved and had profound travel experience in volunteer tourism. Older corporate volunteers exhibited a stronger brand attachment. The current workplace in Taiwan is dominated by middle-aged employees, providing volunteer tourism activities with their expertise. Volunteers tend to engage in a meaningful experience deeply while ensuring that young volunteers value motivation and benefits. Additionally, corporate volunteers found happiness, relaxation, and satisfaction in volunteer tourism activities. The most memorable experiences that influence corporate participation in volunteer tourism are related to local culture and novelty factors.

Strengthen Corporate Volunteers' Relationship With Your Organization

Strengthen Corporate Volunteers' Relationship With Your Organization

Best Practices for Engaging Corporate Volunteers

Best Practices for Engaging Corporate Volunteers

Offer Benefits Geared to Your Corporate Volunteers

Offer Benefits Geared to Your Corporate Volunteers

Perceptions of Youth, Parents, Community Volunteers, Corporate Volunteers, and 4-H Professionals about the 4- H STEM Career Pathway Model

This study sought to understand the 4-H STEM Career Pathway Model program, a three-year initiative to expose youth to college readiness skills, career readiness skills, STEM skills, and careers associated with high-demand STEM jobs such as computer scientists and engineers. The qualitative study described here used document reviews, observations, focus groups, and individual interviews. The initiative was conducted in 13 states, and research participants were 4-H youth, parents, corporate volunteers, community volunteers, and Extension 4-H professionals from a subset of those states. Findings were described in four major themes: (a) 4-H STEM programs were perceived as successful and engaging, yet participants described the need for more advanced experiences for youth; (b) 4-H STEM programs required considerable investment in partnerships as well as professional and volunteer development; (c) increased numbers of girls and minority youth were engaged in 4-H STEM programming when local role models and local partnerships were leveraged, and (d) the 4-H STEM Career Pathway Model needs clear concepts and definitions to be a sustainable approach in the 4-H movement. The major recommendation is an enhanced 4-H STEM Career Pathway Model that delineates outcomes. Additional recommendations include the need to provide effective volunteer and professional development and the need for outreach to corporate volunteers.

A Mixed-Methods Evaluation to Measure 4-H STEM Program Quality

The 4-H Science: Building a 4-H Career Pathway Initiative was a 3-year collaboration among National 4-H Council, Lockheed Martin, and state 4-H grantees to help more than 50,000 youth in 13 states develop STEM and workforce skills for STEM professions. A mixed-methods design used observations and interviews to assess program quality. Researchers observed 4-H STEM programming and conducted individual and focus group interviews with youth, parents, community volunteers, corporate volunteers, and professionals. Observations were conducted using a validated observational tool, the Out-of-School Time (OST) Observation Instrument with STEM Plug-In. This instrument measured youth relationship building, youth participation, staff relationship building, staff instructional strategies, activity content and structure, and STEM instruction. Findings from the observations and interviews were combined to assess program quality. Sites scoring highest on the OST Observation Instrument reported using quality STEM curriculum, especially National 4-H Youth Science Day lessons. The 4-H STEM programs demonstrated highly evident and consistent youth relationship building (e.g., being friendly and collaborative) and youth participation (e.g.., contributing ideas and taking leadership). Yet, in many cases, STEM youth skill development (e.g., drawing connections to real-world concepts) and STEM staff instructional practices (e.g., discussing how youth could pursue STEM content through their education and/or career) were inconsistent and rarely evident. Recommendations include substantive professional and volunteer development for both STEM competencies and enhanced youth development. The OST Observation Instrument with STEM Plug-In provided a comprehensive tool to evaluate program quality, and it is recommended for use in evaluating other 4-H STEM programs.

Take Steps to Educate, Inspire Corporate Volunteers

Take Steps to Educate, Inspire Corporate Volunteers

The Relevance of Self-Determination for Corporate Volunteering Intentions

Corporate volunteering programs are increasingly used to bolster community involvement, address social issues and improve the reputation of organisations. Despite this growing trend, our understanding of what motivates corporate volunteers is scant. Drawing on self-determination theory, this study investigates motivational differences among employees engaging in different corporate volunteering types and in independent volunteering, and examines the relationships between these volunteering types and employees’ intent to volunteer in the future. Findings obtained from a survey of 318 employees suggest that higher levels of motivation to volunteer for reasons of ego enhancement or guilt prevention (introjection) were associated with a higher likelihood of participation in employer-organised, large-scale volunteering. Lastly, compared to the other types of volunteers, corporate volunteers had the highest intentions to volunteer through their company in the future, while independent volunteers had the highest intentions to continue volunteering in their own time without employer support. These results highlight the importance of offering various types of corporate volunteering opportunities to employees, as people engaging in corporate volunteering do not make up a homogeneous group, and that different corporate volunteering activities fulfil different motivational needs.

Estudio de las motivaciones de los voluntarios corporativos mediante pregunta abierta

El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar las motivaciones de los voluntarios corporativos y analizar si las mismas dependen de factores personales o contextuales. A diferencia de la mayoría de las investigaciones sobre este tema, realizadas mediante cuestionarios estructurados, las motivaciones se estudiaron mediante preguntas abiertas. Se aplicó una encuesta auto-administrada a 185 voluntarios de 8 empresas que en Uruguay implementan programas de voluntariado corporativo. Los resultados ratificaron algunas de las conclusiones de investigaciones realizadas mediante preguntas cerradas, cuestionaron otras y aportaron evidencia sobre motivaciones no identificadas en ellas. Se encontró además que las motivaciones son independientes entre sí, que no se asocian con factores personales de los voluntarios y que se registran diferencias importantes entre voluntarios de distintas empresas.

Settling the Neoliberal Contradiction through Corporate Volunteering: Governing Employees in the Era of Cognitive Capitalism

Corporations are increasingly interested in promoting corporate volunteering, and their efforts are aligned with supportive nonprofits and public policies. The article seeks to understand the reasons for this growing interest. It is based on insights from an ethnographic exploration of corporate volunteering activities in a transnational nonprofit that involves highly skilled corporate volunteers in its programs of entrepreneurship education. A multi-sited fieldwork was conducted in the organization’s program offices and its corporate partners in the United States, Belgium, and Israel. The analysis demonstrates how corporate volunteering conjoins various elements—ideological, interactionist, symbolic, and ethical—to maintain the creative engagement of highly skilled employees in cognitive capitalism. The article thus argues that the increasing interest in corporate volunteering emerges from a classwide rationality that extends beyond instrumental interests of particular corporations, as corporate volunteering constitutes a governmentality technique that molds employees’ subjectivities and maintains their wider commitment to capitalism.

Become User‐Friendly for Corporate Volunteers

The Volunteer Management ReportVolume 23, Issue 9 p. 3-3 Corporate Volunteering Become User-Friendly for Corporate Volunteers First published: 16 August 2018 https://doi.org/10.1002/vmr.30986Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume23, Issue9September 2018Pages 3-3 RelatedInformation

Employee engagement benefits help nonprofits make pitch for corporate volunteers

Nonprofits often look to corporate giving offices for cash donations, but increasingly, the support of their employees—via skills‐based or standard volunteer service projects—is sought just as much. And while some companies are quick to provide these resources, others need some convincing that it is in their best interests, as a company, to leverage their employee base in the name of community service.

What Keeps Corporate Volunteers Engaged: Extending the Volunteer Work Design Model with Self-determination Theory Insights

Despite enthusiastic claims around the benefits of corporate volunteering (CV) for the workplace and its widespread implementation, the impact of such programs for beneficiaries and non-profit organizations remains uncertain, particularly when employees’ participation is one-off. Previous research suggests that the benefits of CV for employees, businesses, and society are more likely to occur if employees internalize a volunteer identity—that is, if being a volunteer becomes a part of their self. This leads them to sustain their participation in CV over time, maximizing CV’s positive effects on all stakeholders. This study explores the factors explaining why employees internalize a volunteer identity in a corporate context. We do so by empirically testing Grant’s (Acad Manag Rev 37(4):589-615, 2012) volunteer work design (VWD) theoretical model with a sample of 619 employees involved in CV programs, and by comparing its relevance with an alternative, extended model relying on insights from self-determination theory (SDT). Whereas we find only partial and weak empirical support for the VWD model, our SDT-extended model is supported empirically. These results show that the quality of motivation that employees experience while volunteering plays a more important role than repeated participation, as it illuminates the process of how factors such as the quality of the projects, organizational support for CV, as well as the causes targeted affect the internalization of a volunteer identity. In particular, we show that employees are more likely to internalize a volunteer identity if they can choose what cause to engage for and if they feel that the projects they participate in are meaningful. Surprisingly, we also show that a prestigious cause as well as recognition and managerial support foster a controlled form of motivation for employees, which are then unlikely to internalize a volunteer identity. In doing so, we contribute to a better understanding of how CV can have lasting benefits for both business and society, and provide business leaders with actionable insights about how to design impactful CV programs.

A Derivation of Factors Influencing the Successful Integration of Corporate Volunteers into Public Flood Disaster Inquiry and Notification Systems

Flood hazards have become increasingly common and serious over the last few centuries. Volunteers can observe instant flood information in their local environment, which presents a great opportunity to gather flood information. The information provided by individual volunteers is too much for them to truly understand. Corporate volunteers can offer more accurate and truthful information due to their understanding of the roles and requirements of specific tasks. Past studies of factors influencing the success of corporate volunteers in flood disaster are limited. Thus, this research aims to derive the factors that enable corporate volunteers to successfully integrate the flood information to help reduce the number of injuries and deaths being caused by flood disasters. This research used the information success model and the public-private partnership (PPP) model to develop an analytic framework. The nature of flood disaster management problems is inherently complex, time-bound, and multifaceted. Therefore, we proposed a novel hybrid multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) model to address the key influence factors and the cause-effect relationships between factors. An empirical study in Taiwanese public flood disaster inquiry and notification systems was used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. The research results can serve as guidelines for improving the government’s policies and the public sector in the context of corporate volunteer involvement in flood disaster inquiry and notification and in relation to other natural and manmade disasters.

News Briefs

AmerisourceBergen Foundation launches program to curb opioid abuse. Humana Foundation revises grantmaking strategy. Office Depot cuts ties with namesake foundation. CVS Health Foundation awards $550,000 for Alzheimer's programs. Wells Fargo awards $18 million for job training and employment initiatives. Biogen Foundation launches $10 million STEM initiative. Groups partner to increase corporate volunteers.

Modalities of agency in a corporate volunteering program: Cultivating a resource of neoliberal governmentality

Recent scholarly discussions on agency relate the concept to privilege, affect and subject formation, while challenging its equation with resistance to structural limitations. This article utilizes these discussions in a new terrain of ethnographic exploration: the engagement of corporate volunteers with underprivileged youth, coordinated by a transnational nonprofit that relies on corporate sponsorship. Based on a multi-sited ethnographic study that followed these activities in the US, Belgium and Israel, the article describes how corporate volunteers and coordinators projected an individualized and optimistic agency onto the beneficiaries of their activity, while perceiving their own agency as limited despite their privileged position. The simultaneous use of these two contradictory notions of agency governs employees’ engagement at work and their ideological adherence to corporate capitalism, making ‘agency’ a resource of neoliberal governmentality. These ethnographic insights contribute to explaining why corporations are increasingly interested in promoting volunteering as a salient Corporate Social Responsibility strategy.

Recruit corporate volunteers by highlighting benefits, impact

Nonprofits looking for an edge in attracting corporate employee volunteers to support their activities should extol the values volunteerism offers businesses and their workers, experts say.

The nonprofit case for corporate volunteering: a multi-level perspective

ABSTRACTThis article argues that the nonprofit case for corporate volunteering is complex, requiring a multi-level perspective on the outcomes for nonprofit organizations (NPOs). To develop this perspective, we adopted an inductive research approach, conducting 39 exploratory semi-structured interviews with NPO staff. We argue that NPO scholars and practitioners should disentangle individual and organizational-level outcomes resulting from interactions between corporate volunteers and NPO staff, as such micro-dynamics ultimately affect NPO services. Moreover, these outcomes are subject to conditions at the organizational level (e.g. involvement of intermediaries), as well as at the individual level (e.g. type of assignment). Our study highlights the complexity that should be considered when addressing the fundamental question of whether corporate volunteering contributes to the ability of NPOs to provide their services, and under what conditions. We therefore propose that corporate volunteer management within NPOs is inherently, albeit contingently, intertwined with the services that these organizations provide.

기업자원봉사자의 자원봉사반응에 영향을 미치는 요인에 대한 연구

본 연구는 기업자원봉사자가 봉사활동을 수행한 다음에 보이는 차등적인 반응에 주목하여 어떤 요인이 차등적인 반응에 기여하는가를 밝히려는 목적으로 수행되었다. 자원봉사에 대한 긍정적 반응은 만족도와 기여도로, 부정적 반응은 소진으로 개념화하였다. 자원봉사에 대한 반응을 예측하는 요인으로 가족의 지지, 회사의 자원봉사 지원제도, 그리고 자원봉사현장에서의 다양한 인간관계의 영향력을 검증하였다. 250명의 기업자원봉사자를 표본으로 선정했으며 설문조사로 수집한 자료를 위계적 회귀분석을 통해 분석하였다. 분석결과 가족의 지지는 자원봉사에 대한 반응에 영향이 거의 없는 것으로 나타났지만 회사의 자원봉사지원 제도는 의미 있는 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 나아가 봉사현장에서의 봉사대상자와의 관계와 기관의 자원봉사 담당자와의 관계는 자원봉사만족도와 인지된 기여에 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 하지만 부정적 반응인 소진에는 아무런 영향을 미치지 않았다. 연구결과의 함축성으로 기업의 경우 기업자원봉사자를 적극적으로 동기화시키는 봉사지원제도를 개발하는 것이 필요하다. 비영리조직의 자원봉사관리자의 경우 자원봉사현장에서 발생하는 다양한 인간관계의 영향과 중요성을 인식한다면 기업자원봉사자의 만족도와 인지된 기여도를 높일 수 있을 것이다. This study is aimed to investigate the factors predicting the responses after volunteering activities among corporate volunteers. While positive responses to volunteering are conceptualized as both the degree of satisfaction from volunteering and the perceived contribution of volunteering, negative responses are conceptualized as the degree of burnout. Family supports, the volunteering support system of corporation, various human relations in volunteering sites are selected and empirically tested as variables predicting the differential responses after volunteer activities. Questionnaire data were collected from 250 corporate volunteers and analyzed through hierarchical regression analysis. The results showed that while family supports have no significant effects on volunteering responses, corporate support system of volunteering have significant effects. Additionally, human relations with clients and volunteers managers have strong and positive significant effects on positive responses including the degree of satisfaction and the perceived contribution. However, no significant effect has been found on negative responses represented by burnout. Findings from this study emphasized the importance of human relations management in volunteering sites for corporate and nonprofit volunteer managers to increase the positive response from corporate volunteers.

Management of Corporate Volunteers and the Effects of Volunteering on the Well-Being and Engagement of Employees: A Review and Framework for Future Research

Employee volunteering is a topic of growing importance in workplaces around the globe. Similarly, growing research on this phenomenon has seen a significant increase over the past decade, most significantly in different manufacturing and service oriented firms. Nevertheless, the increased visibility of this notion, not much is written on this burning question and the direction for future research is also unclear. In addition, research is currently based on a variety of different definitions but nothing is said about the practices and the propositions which managers should acclimatize to foster enhanced volunteering initiatives within the organization. In order to advance management research on employee volunteering, this literature hinges upon on four contributions: (1) clarifying the theoretical background on corporate volunteering, (2) best practices which managers should adapt to foster corporate volunteering, (3) effects of volunteering on the well-being and engagement of employees, and (4) providing a future research agenda for the role of volunteering and its motives.