Volunteer Legacy Research Articles

Volunteering Legacies from the Olympic Games: Missed Opportunities

This paper examines how far a post-event volunteering legacy is facilitated by event organising committees leveraging existing volunteering infrastructure in host communities. The paper uses the lens of regulatory capitalism to examine how the organising committees of the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympic Games engaged with the third sector, and specifically the volunteering infrastructure of the host nations, in the planning, delivery and post-event phases to create a volunteering legacy for the host community. The two case studies involved 27 in-depth interviews with key stakeholders representing the organising committees and the volunteering infrastructure in the host cities. While the Sydney Olympics had no specific remit for legacy planning, the third sector led legacy efforts in Australia. At the London Olympics, there was a failure to engage with the third sector, which limited government-led legacy planning and implementation. In the latter case, the framework of regulatory capitalism prioritised contracts with the private sector over meaningful engagement with the third sector.

Leveraging the Olympic volunteer legacy: From perceived benefits to sustained volunteer behavior

Host cities have shown the intention of using the Olympic Games as a leverageable resource in achieving sustained volunteering among Olympic volunteers. I examined the relationship between the perceived benefits of Olympic volunteering and sustained volunteer behavior years after the megaevent. Participants were 353 volunteers who had been involved with the Beijing 2008, Singapore 2010, or Nanjing 2014 Games. The results of an online survey reveal that perceived benefits directly influenced sustained volunteering. A critical relationship between the development of volunteers' role identity and volunteering afterwards was confirmed. Perceived benefits were positively associated with role identity and, thus, indirectly promoted sustained volunteering behavior. Hence, perceived benefits arising from Olympic volunteering are the key to volunteer identity and sustained volunteering. For future practice, significant efforts are needed in the development of perceived benefits and role identity as a volunteer via individuals' experience of volunteering at sporting megaevents.

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

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.

Multi-dimensional framework as a new way to study the management of Olympic volunteering

ABSTRACT Research question: This paper presents a new comprehensive framework that brings together a wide range of themes and issues pertaining to the management of Olympic volunteering lacking in the literature. It helps answer the following research question: how and for whom volunteer programmes work, in what circumstances, to what effect and over what duration. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the theoretical and practical value of combining the Volunteer Process Model (VPM) (Omoto & Snyder, 2002), Human Resource Management (HRM) Model (Cuskelly et al., 2006) and Legacy Cube (Preuss, 2007). This theoretical synergy helps unpack ‘what’ we study, while the premises of critical realist evaluation (Pawson, 2013) ‘Context + Mechanism = Outcome’ (CMO) aid in answering ‘why’ and ‘how’ we study it. Research methods: The London 2012 Olympic Games volunteer (Games Maker or GM) programme was the primary case for this research. Data was gathered before, during and 14 months after the Games in the UK via a mixed methods approach. Survey data from volunteers was complemented with semi-structured interviews with volunteers and managers, the author’s participant observations and documentary analysis. Results and findings: The proposed framework helped identify and evaluate the systems, mechanisms, and processes of developing and managing the GM programme. It became evident that unless key event stakeholders acknowledge the complex nature of Olympic volunteering and put adequate structures, resources and practices in place, the volunteer programmes are ineffective in managing volunteers and attaining a sustainable volunteering legacy. Implications: This paper offers valuable insights into the organisation and management of Olympic volunteering to achieve various programme results. It answers a call for a holistic approach to the phenomenon under study and features new directions for continued academic research in this critical area.

Olympic value perceptions influence on volunteers’ endorsement of Japan hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games

Despite volunteers being essential to the success of the Olympic Games, research on Olympic volunteers’ perceptions of Olympic values remains negligible. This study was aimed to investigate this phenomenon with the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games volunteers. The researchers conducted a questionnaire survey related Olympic value perceptions and endorsement of Japan hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games on 538 volunteers during the Games. The results identified that the value dimension of friendship had a significant influence on females’ endorsement of Japan hosting the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and the value dimension of excellence reduced both females’ and males’ favorable endorsement. The findings and recommendations have ramifications for the future organizing committees of Olympic and Paralympic Games in terms of games delivery and Olympic volunteer legacy.

Creating an Event Volunteering Legacy: The 2014 Host City Volunteer Initiative

This article examines why as part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Glasgow Life failed to achieve its aspired legacy of promoting further volunteering by Host City Volunteers (HCVs) despite the implementation of best practice. This practice included providing dedicated funding of a volunteer legacy program, supporting recruitment from groups generally underrepresented among regular volunteers, and the provision of a dedicated team to support HCVs before, during, and after the event. Drawing on research conducted at the time of the event and a follow up study 3 years later, the article suggests that the absence of such legacy arose because, although highly motivated by the one-off prestigious event, the event volunteers were less motivated by other opportunities, many of those involved as event volunteers were already committed volunteers, and were reluctant to take over responsibility for engaging with future volunteering opportunities. The article considers the wider implications for future event managers seeking to generate volunteering legacies as part of major events. In so doing, it underlines that despite the scheme being constructed around the key characteristics of the much-lauded benchmark model of event volunteering associated with the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games volunteering legacies cannot be guaranteed. Even when there is success in engaging with people markedly different to the common type of event volunteer in underrepresented communities, translating their enthusiasm into postevent volunteering is problematic.

Ensuring volunteer impacts, legacy and leveraging is not “fake news”

PurposeThis study aims to explore the legacy potential of the FIFA Women’s World Cup (FWWC) 2015, for the host communities across Canada.Design/methodology/approachThe mixed-methods study included a link to an online anonymous survey being sent to all volunteers at the FWWC that explored their prior volunteering experience, motivations for volunteering, perceived skill development and future volunteering intentions. Documents were reviewed, and key stakeholders were interviewed.FindingsThe results support previous research that mega-sport event (MSE) volunteers are typically older females with prior volunteering experience. Those most likely to indicate they wanted to volunteer more are younger volunteers without prior volunteering experience. While legacy was discussed as a desired outcome, this was not operationalised through strategic human resource strategies such as being imbedded in the position descriptions for the volunteer managers.Research limitations/implicationsAs this study was conducted in the real-world context of a sport event, the timing of the survey was determined by the organising committee.Practical implicationsMega sport events typically draw upon existing host-city social and human capital. For future event organising committees planning for and delivering a volunteer legacy may require better strategic planning and leveraging relationships with existing host-city volunteer networks. In the context of a single sport, women’s MSE, multi-venue, multi-province event, greater connection was required to proactively connect younger women for volunteers to their geographic sport and event volunteering infrastructure.Originality/valueThis is the first research of volunteers for the largest women’s mega single-sport event. There are three theoretical contributions of the paper to: the socio-ecological lens, motivational theory of single event MSE and the contribution of social and human capital to understandings of legacy.

Beyond the glamour: resident perceptions of olympic legacies and volunteering intentions

ABSTRACTThis study examines factors that influence residents’ volunteering behaviours post-completion of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It posits that residents’ interactions with the event over time and their perceptions of event legacies are likely to exert influence on volunteering. Data were collected in two phases between January 2013 and April 2016 amongst residents living in the borough of Weymouth and Portland. The borough is in the county of Dorset in the South West of England and was the host destination for the sailing events of the 2012 Games. Our findings revealed that residents’ intention to volunteer post-Games declined between 2013 and 2016. Actual volunteering experience, perceived event legacy, commitment to the community, age and length of residence were found to contribute significantly to future volunteering intentions. While the results provide insights for those seeking to develop event legacy strategies to both recruit volunteers and to better leverage volunteering opportunities, it also cautions the claim of positive volunteering legacy made by the 2012 Games.

It's a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience and Opportunity—Deal with it! Volunteer Perceptions of the Management of the Volunteer Experience at the London 2012 Olympic Games

Mega-events such as the Olympic Games involve huge numbers of volunteers from the host community, necessitating the development of a large volunteer program, which will only operate for a short time. Leveraging this volunteer energy to lead to longer-term community volunteering has become a legacy goal for many event organizers. Mega-events typically use a top-down "program management" approach for their volunteer program. This article examines how the program management style impacts on the volunteer experience, using in-depth interviews with volunteers at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The study found that the program management approach had a negative impact on many volunteers' preevent experience, leading to some rejecting the offer of a role at the event. However, the anticipated "once-in-a-lifetime" experience of volunteering for the Olympic Games overcame most of the preevent shortcomings. The article considers the impact of volunteer management on repeat volunteering. Recommendations for better management of mega-event volunteers, leading to a volunteer legacy, are offered.

2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games: planning for a volunteer legacy

The aim of this article is to investigate the relation between the legacy planning process of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG 2016) and the willingness of event volunteers to continue long-term club volunteering and sports event volunteering after the YOG 2016. The article is based on survey data (n = 930) of young volunteers (≤29 years) and shows that they were reflexive oriented in their motives, however collective motives were important as well. Furthermore, the young volunteers were positive with respect to the general experience as volunteers and to how this had influenced their willingness for future volunteering. The findings are discussed in relation to managerial actions during the YOG 2016, such as performance feedback, training for and communication of task specification - and how lack of such may be a barrier for future volunteering.

2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games: planning for a volunteer legacy

The aim of this article is to investigate the relation between the legacy planning process of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG 2016) and the willingness of event volunteers to continue long-term club volunteering and sports event volunteering after the YOG 2016. The article is based on survey data (n = 930) of young volunteers (≤29 years) and shows that they were reflexive oriented in their motives, however collective motives were important as well. Furthermore, the young volunteers were positive with respect to the general experience as volunteers and to how this had influenced their willingness for future volunteering. The findings are discussed in relation to managerial actions during the YOG 2016, such as performance feedback, training for and communication of task specification - and how lack of such may be a barrier for future volunteering.

Post-Event Volunteering Legacy: Did the London 2012 Games Induce a Sustainable Volunteer Engagement?

The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic Games was seen as an opportunity to harness the enthusiasm of the 70,000 volunteers involved and to provide a post-event volunteer legacy. A total of 77 individuals who had acted as volunteers in London 2012 were contacted approximately four years after the Games and agreed to complete a web-based open-ended survey. The participants were asked to indicate their level of current volunteering engagement and whether volunteering at the Games had an impact on their current volunteering levels. The study found that the London Olympics were the first volunteer experience for most of the volunteers who completed the survey, with the main motivation to volunteer being anything related to the Olympic Games. Just over half of the respondents are currently volunteering. Lack of time is shown to be the main barrier towards further volunteering commitment. Only half of respondents had been contacted by a volunteering scheme after London 2012. The implications of the findings for a potential volunteering legacy are then explored.

Towards an Olympic volunteering legacy: motivating volunteers to serve and remain – a case study of London 2012 Olympic Games volunteers

Volunteers are often seen as ‘soft infrastructure’ following the legacy plans of host nations aiming to stage the Olympic Games. This refers to social mobility and the potential of further utilising such volunteer resources for other future events and activities that would benefit the community. The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of a volunteer legacy following volunteers’ involvement with the London 2012 Olympic Games. A total of 163 volunteers involved with the transport department of London 2012 completed a web-based survey. Factor analysis was employed to summarise volunteers’ motivations. The analysis yielded five reliable dimensions of their motivations. Regression analysis was then applied to identify which motivations, sociodemographic characteristics and sport engagement variables had an impact on future intentions for volunteering. The implications of the findings for a potential social legacy of volunteering are explored.

The Spirit Lives on: The Legacy of Volunteering at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games

This study examines the volunteer legacy of a mega-sport event. An online, qualitative, open-ended questionnaire (n = 15) and in-depth interviews (n = 10) were administered to and conducted with Sydney 2000 Olympic volunteers to ascertain the legacies that exist at least 10 years after the completion of the event. The results show that the legacy of the Olympic volunteer experience includes the starting and/or rekindling of a volunteer career, the development of a unique set of skills and abilities, and nostalgia for the atmosphere of the Games with a special emphasis on the ideals of Olympism. The legacy has been perpetuated via formation of a group of volunteers soon after the Games as well as through the use of memorabilia along with sharing stories and expertise on the volunteer experience. The findings provide valuable insights for those seeking to recruit and retain volunteers as well as those who are concerned with developing event legacy strategies to leverage volunteer efforts.

The legacy costs of delivering the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games through regulatory capitalism

The governance structure of the 2012 Olympic Games illustrates characteristics of ‘regulatory capitalism’ in which government awards an initial contract to deliver a project to a private-sector umbrella organisation. To deliver the 2012 Games, the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is estimated to have awarded over 75,000 (sub)contracts to private companies. The government’s ability to make political interventions after an initial contract is awarded is sacrificed to maximise the likelihood of the project being delivered on time. This paper shows how, as a consequence of this structure, the separation of the delivery of the Games from its volunteer legacy responsibilities prevented the adoption of a strategy for generating more community volunteers from the Games. It prevented synergy being maximised between LOCOG’s Games Maker programme and Sport England’s Sport Maker programme, which aimed to generate 40,000 new sport volunteers. Further, legal protection of the sponsor’s interests prevented Olympic events such as the torch relay, and even certain words, being employed by local government to promote sports participation. A further consequence of LOCOG’s status as a private company has been the restrictions imposed by the ‘non-disclosure agreement’ its employees and contractors were required to sign, which has limited a knowledge transfer legacy – a liberty cost of regulatory capitalism. Delivery by regulatory capitalism is shown to have had significant hidden costs in relation to legacy aspirations with implications for future mega-sports events such as the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

It's All About the Games! 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Volunteers

Despite volunteers being essential for the success of many mega sport events, there is little known about what motivates them to volunteer at such events. This study aims to address this gap. This article commences by developing Getz’s event portfolio into a new expanded sport event typology. It continues by presenting the results to three key questions: (1) who is volunteering? (2) what are their motivations for volunteering, and (3) what variables are most likely to be related to their intention to volunteer after the event. The study used an adaptation of the Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale on volunteers at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic winter games. A principal components analysis of the 36 motivation items identified six factors that accounted for 58.3% of the variance, with the main factor entitled “All about the games.” A regression analysis conducted to identify those variables most likely to indicate an intention to volunteer more after the games demonstrated that those who could see an advantage in more volunteering pregames were most likely to intend to increase their level of volunteering postgames. People with previous volunteering experience in events, sport, or community groups were less likely to indicate they would volunteer more after the event. The results and recommendations have implications for mega-multisport event organizing committees not just in respect of event delivery but in terms of a post-event volunteer legacy.

Lessons from the Volunteering Legacy of the 2002 Commonwealth Games

Potential exists for a more multifaceted and interrelated volunteering legacy from mega sporting events than has been recognised by previous research, including not only the continuation and development of volunteering activity, but also the contribution that activity makes to the social inclusion of volunteers, the economic contribution to the development of events in the region, the development of a skilled volunteer workforce and raising the standard of event volunteer management. This paper provides evidence for that claim via a case study of Manchester Event Volunteers—a volunteer development organisation established after the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which is still operating seven years later and provides a role model for volunteer broker organisations. The case study shows that local government played a key role in generating a volunteer legacy, but that legacy planning was limited by the imperative of running the event. Implications for similar events, such as the 2012 Olympics, are discussed.

The volunteer legacy of a major sport event

The purpose of this study was to understand the volunteer legacy of a major sport event and identify aspects of the event that shaped future voluntary action in the host community. Social exchange theory framed the examination of volunteers’ positive and negative experiences with the event as a predictor of future behavioral intentions. A total of 1098 volunteers involved with the 2001 Canada Summer Games completed a post‐event survey. In general, planning volunteers’ future volunteering was particularly influenced by experienced costs of the event (task overload, personal inconvenience), although contributing to the community and a positive life experience were also predictive of their future involvement. In contrast, on‐site volunteers’ future volunteering was more influenced by experienced benefits of the event, including social enrichment, community contribution, and a positive life experience. However, personal inconvenience and task underload were also predictive of their future involvement. The findings have implications for event policy and management that should acknowledge the potential for major sport events to engender a legacy of volunteering.