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Volunteers’ perspective on online volunteering - a qualitative approach

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Abstract

Since the creation of the Internet as an information technology, it has become a tool which exerts its influence on virtually all aspects of human life, including pro-social behavior (Amichai-Hamburger, 2008). An online context is a place of pro-social promise (Wright and Li 2012), and as Non-Profit Organizations (NPOs) face increasing challenges (such as resource scarcity) the Internet has become an important resource for involving and recruiting volunteers and creating opportunities for participation through online volunteering (Pinho and Macedo, 2006). Online volunteering is understood as a particular form of volunteering whose main distinction lies in procedure, since it occurs partially or totally on the Internet. This study seeks to understand the factors that cause and sustain online volunteerism from the volunteer’s perspective, namely the motivations that lead the individual to volunteer online, as well as the resulting experiences and consequences/benefits. We did twenty-four interviews with volunteers of several nationalities. The results contribute to the understanding and development of new knowledge about the online volunteering process, more precisely for a better understanding of how NPOs can best use this resource, namely in the management, recruiting and retaining of volunteers. The main conclusions show that altruistic motivations and learning/career rewards are the most common motivations. Regarding the intention for permanence, the satisfaction associated with the experience and the initial motivations are shown to be decisive. The consequences/benefits are essentially associated with the acquired learning which volunteers consider to be a valuable future asset, and the intrinsic reward of self-actualization and e-empowerment.

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Fig. 1

Notes

  1. Hierarchical division proposed by Abraham Maslow that defines the needs of lower level that the human being must satisfy before the needs of higher level. Once basic needs are met, the human being seeks to achieve the self-realization that is at the top of the hierarchy.

  2. To know more about the community consult: https://www.cibervoluntarios.org/es/la-fundacion.

  3. To know more about the community consult: http://www.translationsforprogress.org/whatistp.php.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Portugal, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-464, Porto, Portugal

    Filipa Silva

  2. CEF.UP, Faculty of Economics, University of Porto, Portugal, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-464, Porto, Portugal

    Teresa Proença

  3. School of Management and Technology - Porto Polytechnic Institute, CIICESI, Casa do Curral, 4610-156, Felgueiras, Portugal

    Marisa R. Ferreira

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  1. Filipa Silva
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  2. Teresa Proença
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  3. Marisa R. Ferreira
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Correspondence to Marisa R. Ferreira.

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Silva, F., Proença, T. & Ferreira, M.R. Volunteers’ perspective on online volunteering - a qualitative approach. Int Rev Public Nonprofit Mark 15, 531–552 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12208-018-0212-8

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