An investigation into the motivations of volunteers at medium scale sport events: A case study of the 2018 Scottish Half Marathon + 10K

Abstract

It is a well-known fact that volunteers are a vital aspect in the delivery of many events, in particular sporting events (Farrell et al. 1998; Wilks 2014). Volunteers contribute a variety of diverse skills to sporting events in the form of free labour which enables the events to be economically feasible (Salamon et al. 2011). Identifying the motivations and experiences of volunteers is becoming increasingly important for event organisers to understand to enable higher levels of retention (Bang and Ross 2009). It should be said however, that in-depth research which examines the relationship between volunteer motivations, satisfaction and retention is lacking. This study has aimed to investigate common motivations for volunteering at medium scale sporting events and the relationship between volunteer motivation, satisfaction and retention within the case study of the 2018 Scottish Half Marathon + 10K. In addition to this, this study aimed to contribute to the gap within current literature which looks at medium scale sporting event volunteers. Due to the majority of existing studies on this topic using a quantitative approach, this study was carried out using an inductive qualitative approach through the use of semi-structured interviews which consisted of a sample of eight participants. The results of this research study present a link to the current literature surrounding volunteer motivations, satisfactions and retention which are discussed in depth within chapter two. Additionally, the similarities and differences between the results from this study and the existing theories are shown within chapter 4, as well as discussions around new motives found through the research process. Finally, this study concludes with a summary of the findings along with relevant recommendations for future research into the topic.