Sports Volunteers Around the Globe: Meaning and Understanding of Volunteering and its Societal Impact

305 Pages·2018·4.66 MB·English

by  Kirstin Hallmann

Sports Economics, Management and Policy
Series Editor: Dennis Coates
Kirstin Hallmann
Sheranne Fairley Editors
Sports
Volunteers
Around the
Globe
Meaning and Understanding of
Volunteering and its Societal Impact
Sports Economics, Management and Policy
Volume 15
Series Editor
Dennis Coates, Baltimore, MD, USA
The aim of this series is to provide academics, students, sports business executives,
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economics, sport management, and public policy on sporting issues.
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issues unique to professional sports, or topics in amateur sports. Each volume will
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and the sport business, improving decision making within the sport business and
regarding policy toward sports, or both. Volumes may include any or all of the
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More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/8343
Kirstin Hallmann • Sheranne Fairley
Editors
Sports Volunteers Around
the Globe
Meaning and Understanding of Volunteering
and its Societal Impact
Editors
Kirstin Hallmann Sheranne Fairley
German Sport University Cologne University of Queensland Business School
Institute of Sport Economics The University of Queensland
and Sport Management St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
Chair of Sport Management
Cologne, Germany
ISSN 2191-298X ISSN 2191-2998 (electronic)
Sports Economics, Management and Policy
ISBN 978-3-030-02353-9 ISBN 978-3-030-02354-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02354-6
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018964406
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Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Sheranne Fairley and Kirstin Hallmann
2 Australia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Sheranne Fairley and Pamm Phillips
3 Flanders (Belgium) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Erik Thibaut and Jeroen Scheerder
4 Botswana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Louis Moustakas
5 Brazil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Ângelo Felipe Müller
6 Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Katie Misener and Kristen Morrison
7 China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Ye Xing, Sheranne Fairley, Yan Wang, and P. Monica Chien
8 Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Hanna Vehmas, Pasi Koski, and Kati Lehtonen
9 The Gambia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Pascal Mamudou Camara and Maximilian Seltmann
10 Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Svenja Feiler, Lea Rossi, and Kirstin Hallmann
11 India . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Pritha Chakravarti
12 Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Takahiro Ikeji, Eiji Ito, Sheranne Fairley, and Shiro Yamaguchi
v
vi Contents
13 The Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Jo Lucassen and Marieke Reitsma
14 New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Richard Keith Wright and Koji Kobayashi
15 Oman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Hafidh Alriyami, Mohammed Alkharusi, and Hamed Almuhrzi
16 Paraguay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Johannes Regier
17 Russia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Marina Sukharkova
18 Slovakia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Alexandra Závadská
19 South Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
David Maralack and Donovan Jurgens
20 South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225
Geumchan Hwang and Kyu-soo Chung
21 Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237
Ramón Llopis-Goig and María P. García-Alcober
22 Sri Lanka . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249
Preben Stai, Nico Schulenkorf, Jane Godfrey, and Sean Phelps
23 Switzerland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263
Siegfried Nagel, Markus Lamprecht, Torsten Schlesinger, Rahel
Bürgi, and Hanspeter Stamm
24 United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279
Fiona Reid and Lindsay Findlay-King
25 United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291
Jeffrey R. Farr and B. Christine Green
26 Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Kirstin Hallmann, Sheranne Fairley, and Elisa Herold
Chapter 1
Introduction
Sheranne Fairley and Kirstin Hallmann
Abstract Volunteers are an integral component of sport events throughout the
world (Cuskelly et al. 2006; Kemp 2002). Sport and event managers must therefore
understand the motives and experiences of volunteers in order to effectively recruit,
retain, and manage volunteers. Western countries such as Australia and the United
States have a strong history of hosting events that utilize a considerable number of
volunteers. Events such as the Olympic Games have been recognized as a potential
impetus for a volunteering career (Fairley et al. 2014, 2016) and therefore may
increase the interest in volunteering in the host country. There is an increasing trend
for Asian countries to host sport events (Dolles and Soderman 2008). With increased
event hosting, there is an increasing need for volunteers (Kim et al. 2010). Research,
however, suggests that there are significant differences between how volunteering
is perceived and conceptualized in different countries and cultures (Fairley et al.
2013; Handy et al. 2000; Halsall et al. 2016). While large-scale events rely on vol-
unteers regardless of where they are held, the prevalence of volunteering both in
relation to sport and society varies by country.  This book examines the cultural
environment in which volunteering takes place by identifying the ways in which
volunteering is conceptualized, valued, and enacted in different countries.
S. Fairley (*)
University of Queensland Business School, The University of Queensland,
St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
e-mail: [email protected]
K. Hallmann
German Sport University Cologne, Institute of Sport Economics and Sport Management,
Chair of Sport Management, Cologne, Germany
e-mail: [email protected]
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2018 1
K. Hallmann, S. Fairley (eds.), Sports Volunteers Around the Globe, Sports Economics,
Management and Policy 15, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02354-6_1
2 S. Fairley and K. Hallmann
1.1 Background and Aim
Volunteers are an integral component of sport events throughout the world (Cuskelly
et al. 2006; Kemp 2002). Sport and event managers must therefore understand the
motives and experiences of volunteers in order to effectively recruit, retain, and man-
age volunteers. Western countries such as Australia and the United States have a
strong history of hosting events that utilize a considerable number of volunteers.
Events such as the Olympic Games have been recognized as a potential impetus for
a volunteering career (Fairley et al. 2014, 2016) and therefore may increase the inter-
est in volunteering in the host country. There is an increasing trend for Asian coun-
tries to host sport events (Dolles and Soderman 2008). With increased event hosting,
there is an increasing need for volunteers (Kim et al. 2010). Research, however,
suggests that there are significant differences between how volunteering is perceived
and conceptualized in different countries and cultures (Fairley et al. 2013; Handy
et al. 2000; Halsall et al. 2016). While large-scale events rely on volunteers regard-
less of where they are held, the prevalence of volunteering both in relation to sport
and society varies by country. Some nations, such as Australia and many European
countries, have sport systems that are strongly reliant on volunteers (Cuskelly et al.
2006; Jones 2004). In these countries the provision of services offered by sport clubs
is predominantly run by volunteers (Vos et al. 2011; Wisner et al. 2005), while other
countries have sport systems that are run almost exclusively by paid staff.
Understanding cultural background is useful when attempting to recruit, manage,
or retain volunteers (Randle and Dolnicar 2009). Research by Fairley et al. (2013)
noted that significant cultural differences exist between Australian and Korean event
volunteers. It was the actual process of writing that article that highlighted the
need to appropriately acknowledge  the influence of  culture on volunteering,
through the use of appropriate research methods. The pivotal component of that
research was the first and second authors discussing that Korean volunteers in the
survey noted they received a stipend for volunteering. The authors also realized that
they were essentially using a scale developed in the West and applying it to an Asian
context. The authors therefore wondered what they were missing in accurately cap-
turing the true cultural conceptualization and motives of volunteers in any specific
country. They also noted that the dominant focus in the literature on sport and event
volunteers was to examine volunteers in different countries and contexts by con-
ducting a factor analysis of a laundry list of items and scales developed in the West
(cf., Fairley et al. 2013). For example, Han and Nguyen (2008) examined differ-
ences between Japanese and American volunteers at Ladies Professional Golf
Association events. They found Japanese volunteers preferred social and material
rewards, while their American counterparts preferred egoistic and purposive
rewards. Similarly, Kim et al. (2010) examined the differences among volunteers in
youth at events in South Korea and the United States and found differences across
groups. They attributed the differences to contextual factors such as the event type
or organization, rather than to culture. This type of research, while interesting, is
potentially limiting the progression of new knowledge by not allowing for cultural
or contextual nuances to emerge.
1 Introduction 3
Research, supported by the generous funding of the Sasakawa Sport Foundation,
sought to understand the cultural meaning of volunteering in Japan (Yamaguchi
et al., 2017).   This research was viewed as particularly timely in the Japanese con-
text, given that Japan has numerous upcoming events that will require a substantial
number of volunteers, such as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. It was the presenta-
tion of this research at an international conference that led to initial discussions
between the editors of this book.
While sport events, which require a large number of volunteers, are now com-
monly held throughout the world, what Yamaguchi et al. (2017) highlighted was
that volunteers are not generally used in the Japanese sport system. This is in stark
contrast to countries such as Australia or Switzerland where the sport system, espe-
cially at the grassroots level, has been run almost entirely by volunteers (Cuskelly
et al. 2006; Lamprecht et al. 2011). Indeed, volunteers are central to many sport
programs and sport clubs, acting in a variety of positions including management
positions (Vos et al. 2011; Wisner et al. 2005). The considerable differences in how
volunteers are used and viewed in relation to both sport events and sport systems in
different countries could be strongly influenced by culture.
There is a lack of agreeance on whether certain cultural characteristics such as
individualism or collectivism are more conducive to volunteerism. For example,
while some suggest it is in line with a collectivist culture (Hofstede 2001; Wilson
and Musick 1997), others have suggested it is more in line with individualist cul-
tures (Kemmelmeier et al. 2006). Further, a country’s actual organizational system
also influences volunteering. The size and scope of the nonprofit sector, which is
strongly reliant on volunteers, in different countries vary (Ruiter and De Graaf
2006) – thus, the respective rates of volunteering also differ.
In summary, we know little about how the meaning and use of volunteers differs
by country and culture. Much of the research on sport and event volunteers has
relied on scales developed and tested in Western nations and has often neglected to
consider the unique cultural characteristics that influence the meaning and activity
of volunteering. This book examines the cultural environment in which volunteer-
ing takes place by identifying the ways in which volunteerism is conceptualized,
valued, and enacted in different countries. Understanding variations in cultural
norms in volunteering will allow us to develop strategies to effectively recruit, man-
age, and retain volunteers in different countries. Noting that individuals also travel
to different countries to volunteer at events (Fairley et al. 2007), understanding the
differing cultural nuances and backgrounds of the volunteer workforce is
necessary.
1.2 Structure of the Book
The purpose of the book is to understand and learn from the cultural conceptualiza-
tions of volunteering from various nations. Compiling a book that provided authors
with the ability to adequately explain unique cultural perspectives on volunteering,