An expectancy theory perspective of volunteerism: the roles of powerlessness, attitude toward charitable organizations, and attitude toward helping others

The attraction and retention of volunteers are vital components to the operation of a nonprofit organization (NPO). Understanding the motivations of volunteers is an important step to recruiting and retaining them. To add to our understanding of volunteer motivation, this research seeks to contribute to the nonprofit literature by applying an updated version of Vroom’s (1964) expectancy theory of motivation to volunteerism to determine whether individuals who regularly volunteer and who volunteer in groups feel less powerlessness and have more positive attitudes toward charitable organizations and toward helping others. Analysis of 210 surveyed consumers in a metropolitan area of approximately one million people in the midwestern U.S. found that individuals that volunteer on a regular, ongoing basis have significantly more positive attitudes toward charitable organizations and toward helping others in general. The results also indicated that individuals that volunteered as part of a group held more positive attitudes toward charitable organizations. Implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and directions for future research are provided.