Festival Volunteers Research Articles

The role of festival volunteers in supporting rural community development: a psychological ownership perspective

ABSTRACT Given the limited research that recognizes volunteers as significant workforce assets and sources of human capital in rural communities, this study investigated how rural festival volunteers’ motivation, psychological ownership, and community involvement impact their support of community development. A sample of 373 volunteers from 12 rural festivals in Iowa, Michigan, and Kansas revealed significant relationships among variables that foster community support. In particular, three motivation factors – value, social, and enhancement – were found to significantly influence psychological ownership, which sequentially influenced community involvement and support. This study provides unique insight into volunteers’ roles in rural communities, highlighting psychological ownership as a significant mediating factor from a community capitals perspective. Results suggest that rural festival organizers should be advised to collaborate with community developers to attract and motivate volunteers. These entities may be most successful in rural community development by fostering a strong sense of psychological ownership, building community involvement, and developing support networks among rural festival volunteers.

The Impact of Volunteering in Festival on Life Rhythm: Taking Wireless Network Communication and Wearable Devices as Tools

It is important to understand the impact of volunteering in festival on life rhythm of a volunteer. Little attention has been paid to the impact of volunteering on volunteers’ behavior. This study is aimed at exploring volunteers’ life rhythm and makes a contrast with that of everyday life by wireless devices. Related theories include volunteers’ behavior, life rhythm of festival volunteers, and wearable devices. Data was collected with a wearable device for the advantage of mobility, flexibility, and instant feedback though there are obstacles such as limited bandwich, signal attenuation, and network congestion. The results show that sleep rhythm interacts with activity rhythm, and volunteering has an impact on the interaction. Volunteering takes the place of work or relaxation, so that the rhythm of sleep is different from that of daily life and is affected by both the circadian rhythm and social factors. But the waking time is advanced by social factors. Compared with other types of days, volunteer day presents the rhythm of early getting up and more time-consuming walking. The schedule in volunteering is obviously different from that of ordinary day, and the walking mileage is much higher than ordinary day. Volunteering has an overflowing effect on daily life and reduces the choice of outdoor activities after being a volunteer.

An Examination of the Impacts of Volunteering and Community Contribution at a Community Festival Through the Lens of the Five Ways to Wellbeing.

The aim of this study was to examine the perceptions, motivations and wellbeing impacts for volunteers and contributors to Broadstairs Folk Week. The study utilised questionnaires with a mix of quantitative and qualitative measures, within a single cohort (n = 152). Analysis was conducted using IBM SPSS 24 to produce descriptive statistics, and cross-tabulations were used to interrogate key variables. NVivo 11 software was used to analyse qualitative comments. A thematic analysis (thematic development) approach further identified codes and themes that fitted well with the Five Ways to Wellbeing (Aked, J., Marks, N., Cordon, C. and Thompson, S. (2008). Five ways to wellbeing: a report presented to the Foresight Project on communicating the evidence base for improving people’s well-being, New Economics Foundation. Retrieved from https://b.3cdn.net/nefoundation/8984c5089d5c2285ee_t4m6bhqq5.pdf). Findings demonstrate that older-adult festival volunteers had a higher sense of subjective wellbeing prior to the festival than might ordinarily be expected in a similar group. Participants reported their sense of wellbeing increased during the festival. The Five Ways to Wellbeing model is suggested as a useful way to frame the results, linking a sense of ‘connection’ and ‘giving’ as participant motivators. This paper argues that festival volunteers derive personal benefits, including sense of connection and reciprocity, and access to resources with potential health and wellbeing benefits. This may be beneficial to the public health agenda of community development, reducing isolation and supporting healthy ageing.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42413-021-00154-2.

음악축제 봉사자에게서 나타나는 진지한 여가자의 특성

The purpose of this study was to reveal the serious leisure characteristics of volunteers at a music festival. The study employed the in-depth interview with five ‘2018 Pentaport rock festival’ volunteers individually. Through the analysis, the study confirmed that music festival volunteers showed all six serious leisure characteristics such as perseverance, career, effort, durable benefits, unique ethos, and identity. Next, the volunteers who participated not only experienced the music festival, but also had an opportunity of improving their leisure career from the music festival. In addition, the study suggests that listening to music can be a serious leisure activity for the volunteers, since they believe music is a part of their life, which always makes them live a happier life. The study also provides music festival developers and marketers with practical implications based on volunteers’ identity of the music festival.

Generalizing motivation measurement indexes: the case of Midi Music Festival volunteers

PurposeTo date, researchers examining the motivations of volunteers at festivals and events have used a range of measurement indexes, most of which appear to have common antecedents in the psychology literature. It is not clear if different events actually require different scales, or if individual scales are more generalizable than is currently recognized so that the proliferation of scales is largely an academic exercise. The current study takes a preliminary step in exploring this issue by using an existing scale developed to measure the motivations of volunteers at western sporting events to examine the motivations of volunteers at a music festival in China.Design/methodology/approachThe Volunteer Motivation Scale for International Sporting Events (VMS-ISE) is administered to volunteers at the Midi Music Festival in China. The 467 respondents are divided into two subgroups. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is applied to the first subsample to explore the factor structure of the index. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is then applied to the second subsample to test the factor structure of the resolved scale.FindingsThe results of the EFA are promising, yielding a resolved factor structure, which is very close to the hypothesized index. The resolved scale is reasonably well supported by the subsequent CFA.Originality/valueThe findings suggest it may be possible for researchers to use a smaller number of scales on a larger range of festivals leading to a better understanding of similarities and differences in motivations across event volunteers. The results should also be helpful to festival organizers in their continuing efforts to recruit volunteers.

축제 인적서비스가 방문객 태도 및 행동의도에 미치는 영향 : 축제 자원봉사자를 중심으로

축제 인적서비스가 방문객 태도 및 행동의도에 미치는 영향 : 축제 자원봉사자를 중심으로

Serving Time: Volunteer Work, Liminality and the Uses of Meaningfulness at Music Festivals

AbstractDrawing from a participant‐observer study of volunteering in the context of UK music festivals, we examine how the sense of meaningfulness and community relate to instrumental goals of consumption and efficiency. We argue that the liminal nature of the festival setting supports an ambivalence in which meaningfulness is established through constructions of community, while the commodification of community feelings leads to heterogeneous understandings of the work setting. Our findings reveal heterogeneous ways in which work was rendered meaningful by festival volunteers, ranging from (1) A commodity frame, characterizing work as drudgery seeking ‘fun’ through consumption (2) A ‘communitas’ frame, emphasizing a transcendental sense of collective immediacy and (3) A cynical frame, where communitas discourse is used instrumentally by both managers and workers. We discuss meaningful work as caught between creative community and ideological mystification, and how alternative workspaces vacillate between emancipatory principles of solidarity and neo‐normative forms of ideological control.

Retention of festival volunteers: Management practices and volunteer motivation

Many volunteers in different festival organisations within the hospitality industry begin with great excitement, but slowly lose interest. This might be due to poor volunteer management practices that result in decreased motivation among volunteers, and with the consequences of them leaving the organisations all together. Therefore, this research aimed to study how volunteers’ perceived management impacted their motivation and in turn affected their intention to stay for longer periods within festival organisations. Expanding upon previous literature that investigated volunteer retention in different contexts as well as in only one festival organisation, a conceptual model was developed using existing theories focused on volunteer management practices, volunteer motivation, and volunteer retention. Using a self-administered online survey technique, 103 valid surveys from individuals currently volunteering in festival organisations were obtained. Although several limitations were present, the results still showed its suitability to volunteers in festival organisations. As such, based on the correlation and regression analyses conducted in this study, the results showed that training management practice has a strong influence on social and protective volunteer motivations; while the recognition management practice has the most influence on the volunteer motivations of social, value, understanding, and esteem. While the majority of these results contradicted previous studies, it still provided a better understanding of the volunteers’ perceptions in different festival organisations, and thus contributes to the body of knowledge for future studies in the same area. With this new knowledge, future scholars can consider the application of volunteer motivation comparisons among different festival organisations, similar studies in the management perspective, and the adaptation of the volunteer retention survey statements to episodic volunteers in the festival context. As a result, the implementation of these recommendations might enable a more effective human resource management strategy to ultimately increase volunteer retention within festival organisations.

Festival community networks and transformative place-making

PurposeFestivals are often explicitly connected to the destinations in which they take place, explored here as contributing to broader processes of place-making and engagement with local communities. Place is defined at a local scale, primarily as experienced by volunteer contributors to an arts and cultural festival in urban Scotland. Networked relationships between festival volunteers inform the research methods and analysis, reflecting both observer and insider perspectives. This paper aims to comment on varying attitudes among the contributors, relating these findings to their positions in the festival’s social network.Design/methodology/approachSocial network analysis methods were used to capture and examine data from a sample of festival volunteers: a survey instrument was distributed among individuals identified by the creative director, acting as a key informant. These data generated information on connections between the respondents, as well as demographic and opinion-based attribute data. Network centrality measures were used to sample the respondents for four follow-up interviews with festival volunteers.FindingsThe resulting network revealed a core-periphery structure to the festival’s organising team. The influential core group members were more established volunteers, recognised for their value to the team. The festival was widely endorsed as contributing to local place-making, though not uncritically. Management implications were identified for the dual nature of the festival organisation: a formal hierarchy with clear functional departments, acting as a platform for an intangible yet vital social network.Originality/valueSocial relationships are shown to have profound implications for the management and identity of this volunteer festival, in relation to its host neighbourhood. Combining social network analysis with semi-structured interviews has demonstrated the value of this mixed methods approach.

Creating knowledge spillovers through knowledge-based festivals: the case of Mantua, Italy

ABSTRACTThis paper attempts to extend the analysis of event effects by analysing the knowledge creation role of an Italian literary festival, the Festivaletteratura in Mantua. The festival uses its local network, consisting of cultural organisations, local firms, festival volunteers and civic organisations to develop and disseminate knowledge. This is linked to an (inter)national network of creative actors, including creative entrepreneurs and festival (ex) volunteers who help to focus attention on the event. The combination of the locally embedded network and an extensive international network are key to the development of the festival as a knowledge hub. In the analysis of such knowledge-based festivals, it is important to shift our focus from events as a happening at a specific moment in time, to their more permanent role as a creative hub embedded in a regional context.

Embodying Counter-Public Space and Performing Queer Culture: The Inaugural Scottish Queer International Film Festival 2015

As I enter the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) in Glasgow for the opening night of the Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF), two giant pink poodles (actually festival volunteers dressed as characters from the festival’s opening film, Dyke Hard [Bitte Andersson, 2014]), greet me enthusiastically. They gesture me toward the CCA Theatre where a sold-out crowd has assembled for the festival’s opening screening of the Swedish lesbian fiction film Dyke Hard. The plastic chairs we sit on are closely packed together to maximize audience space, and yet even as I bang elbows with those on either side of me and feel my knees pressed up against the seat in front of me, the excited and jovial mood of the surrounding crowd overcomes immediate feelings of physical discomfort.

Examining the Role of Self-concept Theory on Motivation, Satisfaction, and Intent to Return of Music Festival Volunteers

Volunteers play a critical role in the production of festivals and events in many ways, such as providing assistance to artists and vendors, direction for attendees, and grounds keeping. However, determining what motivates volunteers, how they become satisfied, and how likely they are to continue volunteering at an event has been overlooked. This is especially true in reference to the music festival industry, which has seen unparalleled growth in the last decade. In order to further understand music festival volunteers, the concept of self-image was examined at the 2013 Austin City Limits Music Festival to determine linkages between self-image congruency and motivation, satisfaction, and intent to return using structural equation modeling. This music festival is of specific interest to the development of understanding the role of self-image in festivals and events due to the scale and size of the festival as well as the festival's requirement of being a local resident in order to volunteer. As such, the importance of understanding these local volunteers at a mega-event, which hosts 75,000 attendees per day over two 3-day weekends, is vital. This study found that self-image congruency has an impact on motivation, satisfaction, and intent to return and develops practical linkages and theoretical support for the consideration of self-image congruency when examining festival and event volunteers in a tourism context.

Documentary Film Festivals as Ideological Transactions: Film Screening Sites at Hot Docs

In this study, the author examines the film screening site at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, a location were a range of ideological transactions are in operation. Adding to the scholarly study of documentary film festivals, the author draws on cultural studies methodologies and fieldwork conducted at Hot Docs to provide a close examination of the festival’s film exhibition site. He examines: the formation of ‘a public’ in this setting; the ideological underpinnings of post-screening Q&A sessions; the significance of the venues chosen for festival screenings, and the role of festival volunteers at these venues; and efforts by festival staff and festival-sponsoring organizations to frame the reception of documentary film at the film festival screening site.

A new model of volunteer leadership: lessons from a local festival

This article delivers insights into the leadership of volunteers using a local music festival as a case study. Leadership traits and styles have been discussed in the literature in relation to festivals and events, with authors particularly highlighting servant leadership and transformational leadership styles within this context. The traits of the heroic leader and the entrepreneurial leader, as well as the transactional leadership style and the creativity broker, also discovered within the events literature, are also used here to guide the analysis of the data. Semi-structured interviews with the festival director and festival volunteers were conducted and analysed. An overview of the data is reported under four clusters of leadership characteristics: inspiring, sharing, caring and delivering. The findings are then matched against the various leadership theories and a new volunteer leadership model, termed ‘layered leadership’, is developed.

Knowledge management in the voluntary sector: a focus on sharing project know-how and expertise

Voluntary sector organisations are operated principally by volunteers who are not obliged to share their knowledge, as might be expected in a for-profit company, with a greater consequent loss of knowledge should individuals leave. This research examines how a volunteer-led organisation, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), acquires, stores and shares its project knowledge in the context of event management. Three annual CAMRA festivals of different sizes and maturity were selected to see how volunteers’ knowledge is managed in the process of organising their festivals. Key Festival Officers were interviewed and focus groups, comprising of festival volunteers, were conducted. While the maturity of a festival and its size seemed to influence the ways in which knowledge was managed there were some commonalities between festivals. Evident was a strong master-apprentice model of learning with little formal training or record keeping except, that is, where legislation and accountability in treasury and health and safety functions were necessary. Trust between volunteers and their need to know and to share information appeared to be dependent, in part, on their perception and confidence in the success of the overarching project organisation, and this helped shape volunteers’ knowledge-sharing practices. While there was evidence of a laissez-faire approach to codification and the sharing of knowledge, this was less so when volunteers recognised a genuine lack of knowledge, which would hinder the success of their festival. The analysis also highlighted factors related to the sharing of knowledge that, it is suggested, have not been identified in the for-profit sector.

Knowledge sharing: insights from Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) Festival volunteers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a British Academy funded project that investigated the knowledge sharing activities of volunteers within three Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) festivals. Design/methodology/approach – Three case study festivals were selected based on factors such as longevity and size. Rich qualitative data were collected using semi-structured interviews with volunteers in key festival roles and focus groups with a range of other volunteers. Findings – A range of inhibitors and enablers to sharing festival knowledge were identified, some of which have not yet featured in the knowledge management (KM) literature. Riege's categorisation of individual, organisational and technological barriers to knowledge sharing was used to frame discussion of the findings. Research limitations/implications – Volunteer-led festivals are a novel context for knowledge sharing research yet the principles of volunteer working and the project-based approach to most festivals means they are a fertile arena for lessons in KM. Practical implications – Insights into knowledge sharing activities were generated from this study which could improve KM practices in festivals. They included the use of the master-apprentice model, raising the value of post-project reviews and designing festival layout with knowledge sharing in mind. Originality/value – The study of knowledge sharing is an original contribution to the field of event management.

Will They Stay or Will They Go? A Study of Volunteer Retention at Film/Music Festivals in the Southwest United States

Events, such as festivals, which often provide significant economic benefits to local communities, generally require the efforts of both new and experienced volunteers to operate successfully. The purpose of this research was to develop a theoretical model of intent to continue to volunteer building upon a study done with festival volunteers in Europe and expanded to include additional theories of volunteer commitment. This study was carried out using survey results from 261 volunteers at film and music festivals in the Southwest US. Results supported some findings from the prior study of factors related to both motivations to volunteer and how the experience of being a volunteer explained volunteer continuance commitment. However, results of this study showed that fulfillment of the volunteer psychological contract and role identity as a volunteer were also significant but not years as a volunteer, the most significant influence on volunteer continuance commitment in the prior study. Close to 40% of volunteers are shown to have considered quitting and reasons for possibly quitting are provided.

Volunteer Management of the Hi Seoul Festival

For the success of a festival, effective volunteer management is axiomatic. Given the dramatically increased size and quality of festivals and events in Korea over the past fifteen years, the importance of effective volunteer management has been overlooked among festival organizations in comparison to similar festivals in western countries. This paper provides a description and an assessment of the Hi Seoul Festival 2009 volunteer program based on an seven-step ideal process of an effective festival volunteer program with suggestions for the program development by reviewing organizational documents, and an interview with a staff member of the Hi Seoul Festival organization, and a survey pertinent to festival volunteers’ motivation. This study shows college students are more interested in volunteering at festivals in Korea with the primary motivation of developing relationships and gaining work experience. It also suggests that the Hi Seoul Festival organization should fully appreciate the importance of an effective volunteer program and the position and work of a volunteer coordinator.

Table of Contents

Abstract Learn How to Handle Anyone Internal Communication It Pays to Market Your Program Internally Ideas You Can Use ‘Hats Off’ to Your Volunteers Improving Repeat Events Layer Subsequent Years' Events With New Volunteer Responsibilities Event type: Annual membership kickoff reception for a museum or art center. Corporate Profiles How to Catch the Corporate Volunteer Professional Development Select the Conference That's Best for You Once You Arrive — Making the Most of Your Conference Experience Upper Management ‘Serves the Servers’ Do Your Homework When It Comes to Selecting Speakers Volunteer‐driven Events Mariachi Festival's Volunteers Raise $90,000 Getting Your Message Out How to Market Your Program Externally Raffled Quilt Nets $3,700 Fraternal System Nears 46 Million Service Hours Icebreakers You Can Use Volunteer Profile Form is Valuable Tool Look Before You Leap Use Surprises To Lighten the Load Opportunities to Lead Every Organization Needs At Least One Hero Inspiring Others Use Your Life‐changing Moments to Persuade Others Checklist Helps When Planning Special Event Volunteers Raising Funds Hospital's ‘Carve Your Name’ Project Raises Funds and Team Spirit Here are other companies providing brick engraving services: