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Toward a Refined Insight Into the Importance of Volunteers’ Motivations for Need-Based Experiences, Job Satisfaction, Work Effort, and Turnover Intentions in Nonprofit Sports Clubs: A Person-Centered Approach

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Abstract

Extensive variable-centered research guided by Self-Determination Theory (SDT) has provided insights into volunteers’ motivations in nonprofit and voluntary sports clubs. However, volunteers may have multiple reasons for engaging in volunteer work. By adopting a person-centered approach, the present study aimed to identify volunteers’ motivational profiles in sports clubs based on combinations of different motivational regulations as distinguished within SDT. Six profiles were retained, which differed in terms of volunteers’ need-based experiences, job satisfaction, work effort, and turnover intentions. Specifically, the findings pointed out the crucial role of relatively high levels of autonomous motivation for volunteers’ need satisfaction, job satisfaction, and work effort while relatively high levels of controlled motivation and amotivation were associated with need frustration and turnover intentions. Practical suggestions on how leaders can optimize their organization’s motivational environment are provided. This study urges researchers to develop motivational profiles in other nonprofit contexts.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Flemish Sports Federation and other “Clubgrade” partners for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Watersportlaan 2, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Tom De Clerck, Annick Willem, Katrien De Cocker & Leen Haerens

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  1. Tom De Clerck
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  2. Annick Willem
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  3. Katrien De Cocker
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  4. Leen Haerens
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Correspondence to Tom De Clerck.

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Ethical Standard

The research involved human participants. The following informed consent was included in our research: "You are voluntary involved in our study and you can stop your involvement at any moment for any reason. All answers to the questions will be treated confidentially and will only be used for scientific purposes. This means that only researchers have access to your answers and that this information will be not be passed on to other members of the organization, nor to third parties. Please indicate whether or not you agree to these conditions and whether or not you wish to participate in the survey." Possible answers: yes or no. This informed consent was approved by the ethical committee of the faculty of the university.

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De Clerck, T., Willem, A., De Cocker, K. et al. Toward a Refined Insight Into the Importance of Volunteers’ Motivations for Need-Based Experiences, Job Satisfaction, Work Effort, and Turnover Intentions in Nonprofit Sports Clubs: A Person-Centered Approach. Voluntas 33, 807–819 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-021-00444-5

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