Review of Literature

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Events Industry overview

Events are playing a significant role in tourism and culture; governments now support and promote events as part of their strategies for economic development, nation building and destination marketing. The UK has a rich tradition of rituals and ceremonies extending over thousands of years. These traditions have greatly influenced many events as they are celebrated today. The majority of fairs in the UK can trace their ancestry back to Charters and privileges granted by the Crown. The original purpose of the fairs was to trade produce, much the same as exhibitions operate today. Exhibitions and trade shows have taken over much of the traditional purpose of the fairs (Bowdin, 2006, p. 3).
Sport provides many of the UK’s most significant and enduring events. As well as attracting large crowds and media attention, they help to create a national identity and are important to the country’s tourism appeal. Events are a growing phenomenon worldwide, suggesting they fulfill a basic need in human society. The UK is widely recognized as a leader in the event field (Bowdin, 2006, p.14).
The Chambers Dictionary defines event as ‘anything which happens; result, any incidence or occurrence esp a memorable one; contingency or possibility of occurrence; an item in a programme (of sports. etc); a type of horse-riding competition, often held over three days (three-day event), consisting of three sections, ie dressage, cross-country riding and showjumping; fortune or fate (obs); an organized activity at a particular venue, eg for sales promotion, fundraising.’
Events, according to Getz (1997, p. 4-11), are temporary occurrences, either planned or unplanned, with a finite length of time. Planned events have a length of time that is usually fixed and publicized (quoted in Tassiopoulos, 2005, p. 11).
The Accepted Practices Exchange (APEX) Industry Glossary of terms (CIC, 2003) defines an event such as, ‘An organized occasion such as a meeting, convention, exhibition, special event, gala dinner, etc. An event is often composed of several different yet related functions.’ Other dictionaries give similar definitions, and it can be concluded that the term event can be viewed in a variety of ways.
Events are becoming established as an integral and major part of tourism development and marketing strategies. Event tourism could be used to describe this phenomenon and this could be defined as the ‘systematic development, planning, marketing and holding of events as tourist attractions’. The goals of event tourism could be as follow: to create a favorable image for a destination, to expand the traditional tourist season, to spread tourist demand more evenly through an area, and to attract foreign and domestic visitors (Tassiopoulos, 2005, p. 4).
Events can become the most common channel through which visitors satisfy their desire to sample local foods and traditions, participate in games, or are entertained. Local and regional events can have the added advantage of keeping the domestic tourism market active. Smaller local events have the advantage that they can make event tourists believe that they are participating in an authentically indigenous activity (Getz, 1991, p. 127, quoted in Tassiopoulos, 2005, p. 5)
‘Events’ consist of two types: planned and unplanned, ‘planned events’ consist of two categories: routine, ordinary or common and special events. ‘Special events’ includes the following categories: minor special events and major special events. ‘Major special events’ contain two categories: hallmark events and mega-events (Tassiopoulos, 2005, p. 10).

One of the major trends that appear to be continuing in both consumer and business markets is the move towards smaller, more narrowly focused events. As consumer society becomes more individualistic and mass media tends to be viewed as less of an instrument for creating or reinforcing socially acceptable behaviour, target markets will become more and more fragmented. Individualism will be demonstrated by attendance at smaller specialized, art, music or even sports events or through larger festivals where individuals can pick and mix from a variety of entertainment on offer.
However, the increased number of such events needs to be managed and targeted carefully or the already information and decision overloaded consumer will be further confused by the proliferation of choices (Masterman and Wood, 2006, p. 296)

2.3 Volunteers as a pivotal resource of labor for events

Events have unique human resource needs and challenges, especially because of their usual reliance on volunteer (Getz, 2007, p. 286). Monga (2006) highlighted that the decision to get volunteer labor is typically based on the need to create an event or activity greater than its immediate financial resources would allow. That is why it is vital for volunteer managers to create an appropriate method to obtain, maintain, and retain suitable volunteer labor.
Stebbins and Graham notes (2004, p.49) that volunteers have become vital for the delivery of special events, as most events now depend to some degree on volunteers for event planning and operations (Allen, 200; van der Wagen, 2001; McDonnell et al., 2002). The growing importance of volunteers to events has been paralleled by a substantial growth in the use of events in the economic and social development strategies of cities, regions and countries (Mules and Faulkner, 1996; Getz, 1998; Jago et al., 2003). Thus, just as events are becoming increasingly dependent on volunteers, community and national development are becoming increasingly reliant on events as a component of the strategic development mix. Consequently, event volunteers have become vital to the economic and social development to which events are expected to contribute.
Farrell et al. (1998, p. 288) points out that many major sporting events depend on volunteer labor and that the volunteer team is a critical part of the overall success of many major sporting competitions. Therefore it is necessary that organizers understand volunteer motivation and their satisfaction with the volunteering experience in order to respond effectively to management needs in the areas of recruitment, retention, and daily operations.
Elstad (2003, p. 99) notes that many event organizations spend considerable resources in recruiting and training volunteers. As festivals and events are very often almost completely run by volunteers, it is important that the event or festival has a large group of volunteers that over time have developed core competence in running a festival or event. Because volunteers are not dependent on the event or festival economically, it is much easier for them to quit as a volunteer compared to quitting in their paid jobs. It is, therefore, quite a challenge to ensure that individuals continue as volunteers in the future.
Given the current financial situation the need for event volunteers increases, as they are a core component of events and play a significant role in the overall success of many events. The use of volunteers to complement paid employees and offset rapidly increased labor costs is vital to event organizations, as many event organizations are trying to cut the operational costs. Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen (1991, p. 270) concluded “volunteers enable administrators to sustain current services and expand both the quantity and diversity of services without exhausting the agency’s budget.”
It is important to find out whether and how the financial crisis affected event volunteering. Whether in hard times, people can not afford to volunteer and they have self-centered priorities and are less likely to think about the needs of others, or on the contrary people will volunteer more because they lost the job or can not find one.
The economic climate affected tourism and event industry, and many organizations will be working under pressure with reduced workforces. Tourism has been heavily affected by the financial crisis. According to the World Tourism Organization, UNWTO, the number of travel movements fell by further 8 percent between January and April. Tourist numbers are continuing to drop in the world. Consumers paralyzed by fear of the crisis are persistently staying at home (Conrady, 2010).
The UK event industry is suffering as well. The Daily Telegraph, reported that corporate Christmas parties were down 15 percent in 2009 over the year prior (which in itself was pretty dismal), and that those that "must" take place are "rightfully" no-frills affairs (The State of the U.K. Special Events Industry, Special Events, January 1, 2010).
Many of the UK’s events face an uncertain future. A looming recession, surging unemployment and lack of investors are likely to push many smaller and medium scale events out of business. Estimates suggest the UK festival industry was worth about £900m in 2008. But during the summer 18 events – from the Isle of Skye Festival to the Portsmouth and Southsea Festival -were cancelled in the weeks and months before they were due to take place. Reasons given by organizers varied from tickets not selling; to funding getting more difficult as the credit crunch began to bite (www.eventindustrynews.co.uk).
When financial crisis strikes, organizations must be strategic and creative in stretching their budgets and feeling the gaps. When budgets are cut volunteers can be a vital resource especially for smaller and medium scale events. In order to engage more volunteers it is essential to find out what motivates them to volunteer, especially in terms of economic crisis.

2.3 Motivation

Much of human resource management is concerned with motivation. The word motivation is generally used to reflect the effort or drive that an individual puts into an activity. There is an extensive amount of studies on motivation: Huczynski and Buchanan 2007; Mullins, 2006; Fulop and Linstead 1999; Hollyforde and Whiddett, 2002. Some theories of motivation emphasize the needs that individuals are motivated to fulfill (such as an adequate standard of living, recognition for good work, social activity and so on) and these are referred to as content theories of motivation. Other theories explore the process of motivation (Torrington et al., 2008, p. 262).
Locke’s theory (1991) suggests that staff and volunteers are motivated when they have clear and challenging goals to achieve, are involved in setting the goals themselves, and are provided with feedback on progress en route to agreed-upon goals. By contrast, few challenges, little involvement, and little feedback may lead to passivity, dependence, and a sense of “psychological failure”. Hackman’s and Oldham’s job satisfaction theory (1975) offers a complementary set of insights into personnel management. It suggests that a number of basic job dimensions, such as skill variety, task identity and significance, autonomy and feedback, are closely related to job satisfaction and high performance (Helmut K. Anheier, 2005, p 258).
These theories could be applied to the management of volunteer resources as well. However, volunteers require a rather different treatment since the wage incentive is missing. Baker (1993, p. 28) identifies three basic motivational factors why people volunteer: altruistic, instrumental, and obligatory. People volunteer both to help an organization and to gain experience. Matching volunteer interests and talents to organizational needs is an important management task.
Managing and training volunteers is a way of attracting and retaining them. At the same time, and in contrast to paid staff, volunteer motivation is primarily non-monetary and cannot be managed along incentives lines but more on the grounds of commitment to the cause and long-term career benefits. This means that strategies for managing employees and volunteers are different. That is why it is important to avoid tensions between personnel management based on commitment and those based on monetary incentives (Helmut K. Anheier, p 259).
Therefore there are differences in focus in the employee and volunteer work motivation literatures. Questions about employee motivation have centered on understanding direction and persistence, primarily interest in attendance and turnover. Unlike employees, volunteers’ motives for joining cannot easily be reduced to a simple and reassuring assumption (Pearce, 1993, p. 61).

2.4 The Motives for Volunteering

It is very difficult to define what is meant by a volunteer as there is no standard practice in volunteering (Gaskin, K., 1999). Volunteers operate in thousands of different organizations taking on extremely varied roles. Also volunteers cannot be considered to be one large, homogenous group (Wymer, W. W., 1998) as they are of all ages and diverse backgrounds with a range of experiences and skills (Bussell and Forbes, 2001, p. 245).
There is also a question whether volunteers, as time donors, should be treated differently from those who donate other items, such as money, gifts in kind or anatomical parts. Yavas and Riecken found that time donors shared certain demographic and attitudinal characteristics with those who donated money or anatomical parts (Yavas and Riecken, 1985). Many people state that they would like to volunteer, but are unable to do so because of work commitments (Nichols and King, 1998). In order to increase the pool of volunteers some firms are allowing employees to have time off work (either paid or unpaid) to undertake voluntary work in the community (Bussell and Forbes, 2001, p. 246).
To be considered as a volunteer, altruism must be the central motive where the reward is intrinsic to the act of volunteering. The volunteer’s motive is a selfless one. Helping others has been found to be an important factor among volunteers of all ages: student volunteers (Thippayanuruksakul, 1989) and those over the age of 60 (Okun, 1994, quoted in Bussell and Forbes, 2001, p. 249). Murk and Stephen stated that volunteer does not think in terms of sacrifice but instead sees rewards that go beyond the financial. However volunteers sacrifice much, in terms of time spent and energies given to a project. Because of this, successful volunteer experience hinges on the mutual satisfaction of meeting volunteer and organizational needs (Murk and Stephen, 1991, p.73)
The reasons why people choose to volunteer, is essential in order to design successful recruitment campaign. Motivation is the defining difference between managing paid staff and volunteers. Volunteer motivation is the most researched aspect of volunteerism and most studies conclude that motivation is complex and personal (Kirsten Holmes, Karen Smith). Volunteering means any activity in which time is given freely to benefit another person, group, or organization (Wilson, 2000, p. 215, quoted in Baum et al., p.139).

2.5 The Motivations of Event Volunteers

The majority of events are dependent on volunteer labor, for example, mega-events such as the Olympics where thousands of volunteers participate (Elstad, 1997a; Hiller, 1990). Furthermore, a survey in the UK estimated that 76% of the festivals used volunteers (Rolfe, 1992; Ryan & Bates, 1995). Without the commitment from the volunteers, many events could not have been arranged (Elstad, 2003, p.99).
Key questions for volunteer management are ‘What motivates event volunteers and how can their commitment and productivity be maximized and sustained’ (Getz, 2007, p. 289). Understanding motivation, the reasons why people choose to volunteer, is essential in order to design successful recruitment campaigns, effectively allocate roles, devise an appropriate reward strategy to ensure volunteer satisfaction and also retain the services of a volunteer over time (Managing Volunteers in Tourism: Attractions, Destinations and Events, Kirsten Holmes, Karen Smith).
Focusing on volunteering from a leisure activity perspective, the literature suggests that “co-production motives” may be present. Parker (1997) defined leisure volunteering as giving one’s time and energy not to help others altruistically, help oneself in a market situation, or help a cause in which one believes; but primarily to have a leisure experience. Silverberg, Ellis, Backman, and Backman (1999) suggest that volunteers may also serve to directly or indirectly benefit themselves and/or family members. A study by Shibli, Taylor, Nichols, Gratton and Kokolakakis (1999) focusing on volunteers in the United Kingdom identified that individuals seemed to volunteer for their own benefit. In the study conducted through a nonprofit health advocacy organization, Farmer and Fedor (2001) found the reasons for joining an organization not only included altruistic motives, but financial motives as well. (Bang & Stephen D. Ross, Volunteer Motivation and Satisfaction).
There have been an extensive number of studies on events volunteers’ motivation. Most of them investigated motives for volunteering (Coyne and Coyne, 2001, Strigas and Newton Jackson, 2003). Elstad (2003), for example, were trying to find reasons of quitting volunteer job, and find out that workload, lack of appreciation, and poor event organization were top three reasons. Cnaan and Goldberg-Geln (1991) reviewed volunteer motivation literature and created a questionnaire with 28 items. Their findings indicated that volunteer motivations were determined by a combination of altruistic and egoistic motives, 258 volunteers in human services and 104 nonvolunteers were asked to rank in importance 28 motives for volunteering. They found out that according to the literature, most researchers assumed that motivation to volunteer (MMV) was a two-or three-dimensional phenomenon, but very few studies have carried out an empirical analysis of the internal dimensionality of MTV. Their findings indicated that when all 28 motives were subjected to various types of factor analysis, most items were grouped together on one factor. In other words, a unidimensional scale was obtained.
However, limited knowledge of current trends in volunteerism or ignorance of the real needs and motives of volunteers could be catastrophic for the expansion of volunteer human resources and the execution of a special event (D. Strigas and Newton Jackson, 2003). Therefore it is important to gain a better understanding of the motives of short-term volunteers in order to design the marketing tools for future recruitment.
Event volunteers have complex motivations, the same way as volunteers in other settings. However, the episodic nature of event volunteering makes their motivations different from other forms. Motives to volunteer differ depending on the nature of the volunteer activity, as there are differences between the volunteer motives in the areas of human services and special events (Clary et. al., 1998; Fairley, Kellett, & Green, 2007: Farrell, Johnston, & Twynam, 1998, quoted in Bang et al., 2009, p.120). The literature on volunteer motivations as well suggests a complex system of reasons that are different depending on the characteristics of events (Bang and Ross, 2009, p. 63).
Monga (2006), for example, found out that the unique characteristics of festivals and special events differentiate the motivation to volunteer for special events and festivals from other forms of volunteering. It pointed to a more complicated set of explanatory variables than those applicable to more typical volunteering where altruistic intentions are seen as central to volunteerism. The atmosphere of festivals and special events could make the events very attractive and therefore it could be one of the reasons to volunteer for it. Monga (2006) studied volunteers in five different special events and found that motives were similar across all events, and that volunteers do not act due to any one particular motive but due to multiple reasons.
It is equally important to understand event volunteer satisfaction, which is influenced by expectations prior to the event as well as actual experiences during the event which includes the administration and management attributes that influence how effective the event itself is organized (Ralston et al., 2004). People volunteer for different reasons, but they will only continue to volunteer if they enjoy what they are getting from the experience (Ralston et al., 2005). Elstad (1996, cited in Deery, Jago, & Shaw, 1997, p. 20, quoted in Monga, 2006, p.51), highlighted that the satisfying factors for the majority of volunteers at the XI Olympic Winter Games were “personal networking, [the] celebratory atmosphere and having fun.” Monga (2006) noted that a satisfying volunteering experience may have strong implications on the decision to continue volunteering. Motivation to volunteer is a key to understanding volunteer satisfaction.
Volunteers may be motivated by a variety of reasons, intrinsic and extrinsic (Duchesne, 1989; Cnaan & Goldberg, 1991; Perkinson, 1992; Parker, 1992, Schondel, Shield, & Orel, 1992). Caldwell and Andereck (1994) described three categories of motivations or incentives for volunteering: purposive, solidary, and material. Purposive incentives relate to doing something useful and contributing to society. Solidary incentives are based on social interaction, group identification, and networking. Material incetives include tangible rewards such as perks and memorabilia. They found the strongest motives were purposive incentives, followed by solidary, then material (Farrell et al., 1998).
In a study of a World cup downhill skiing event, Williams et al. (1995) found the most important motivations for resident volunteers were supporting the national team, improving community spirit, and strengthening the community image. The next most important motivations were the opportunities to socialize with people who share common interests, be outdoors, and meet new people. The least important motivations were racing skill improvement, free lift tickets, free event memorabilia, and making job contacts. The ranking of these motivations parallels the three category typology (purposive, solidary, and material incentives) identified by Caldwell and Andereck (1994). (Farrell et al., 1998)
Whatever the motivations may be for investing volunteer time, it is important that they be identified and where feasible, incorporated into the event’s management objectives (Williams et al., 1995, p. 85).

2.6 Theoretical background

Sheared (1986, p. 78) defines volunteering as being: …concerned with activities which people undertake of their own free will, without payment (other than out-of-pocket expenses) and for the benefit of the community, other than family and friends (quoted in Ryan & Bates, 1995, p. 62). Williams et al. (1995, p. 85) noted that the reasons for being a volunteer are varied (Hunt & Hartman, 1984). However, it is clear that in many cases the sense of belonging or sharing is very important to them; this “connectedness” with something special might actually be the main reason why people volunteer from the local community or as visitors (Getz, 1989). Whatever the motivations may be for investing volunteer time, it is critical that they be identified.
The motivational factor models proposed so far vary from a unidimensional model (Cnaan & Goldberg-Glen, 1991) to a six-factor model (e.g., Clary et al., 1998; Farrell et al., 1998).
Two-dimensional and three-dimensional are more often used in volunteering literature. The two-dimensional models included egoistic and altruistic motivations (Horton-Smith, 1981; Latting, 1990), and the three-dimensional models included altruistic, material, and social motivations (Morrow-Howell & Mui, 1989; Prestby, Wandersman, Florin, Rich, and Chavis, 1990). Despite the fact that the three-dimensional models are based on the same dimensions, the descriptions of these dimensions vary (Monga, 2006, p. 50).
In order to relieve the complexity of volunteer motivation issues, Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen (1991) reviewed 27 studies on volunteer motivation, and collected additional quantitative data from a sample of 258 volunteers and 104 non-volunteers. Although the authors had anticipated two or more category models of motivations to volunteer, the data analysis supported a 22 item unidimensional scale labeled the Motivation to Volunteer Scale (MVS). The items comprising the MVS reflect both altruistic and egoistic motivations, suggesting that volunteers not only desire to help the organization, but also expect some type of personal reward from their volunteer activity. However, because of the unidimensionl nature there was no clear distinction between the altruistic (Bang & Stephen D. Ross)
More recent studies, however, have provided support for multidimensional models of measuring motives (e.g., Clary et al., 1998; Farrell et al, 1998; Johnston, Twynam, & Farrell, 1999–2000). The authors applied functionalist theory to the question of the motivations underlying volunteerism, hypothesized 6 functions potentially served by volunteerism, and designed an instrument to assess these functions (Volunteer Functions Inventory; VFI) (Clary et al.). Clary et al. (1998) have adopted the strategy of functional analysis, an approach that underlie and generate psychological phenomena — that is, the personal and social functions being served by an individual's thoughts, feelings, and actions (Snyder, 1993). Theorists Smith, Bruner, and White (1956) and Katz (1960) proposed that the same attitudes could serve different functions for different people and that attempts to change attitudes would succeed to the extent that they addressed the functions served by those attitudes (Clary et al.).
Taking this functional approach, they conducted exploratory and confirmatory analyses on different samples to identify the motivational functions served by volunteerism. Their results revealed a six-factor solution, which was named the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI). These factors were Values, Understanding, Social, Career, Protective, and Enhancement (Bang et al.).
The values function relates opportunities that volunteerism provides for individuals to express values related to altruistic and humanitarian concerns for others. Understanding function reflects the opportunity for volunteerism to permit new learning experiences and the chance to exercise knowledge, skills, and abilities that might otherwise go unpracticed. Social function involves motivations concerning relationships with others. Volunteering may offer opportunities to be with one's friends or to engage in an activity viewed favorably by important others. Career function is concerned with career-related benefits that may be obtained from participation in volunteer work (Clary et al.). The Protective function relates to reducing guilt over being more fortunate than others and addressing one’s own personal problems, and finally, the Enhancement function is about the ego’s growth and development. Clary et al. (1998) also found that volunteers who were driven by their personally desired functions were likely to be more satisfied with their volunteer activity, and had higher intentions to remain committed to their volunteer roles (Bang et al.).
While the Clary et al.’s (1998) study was shown to be a valid and reliable, and was found appropriate for assessing volunteer motives in human services, there have been very few studies focusing on volunteer motivation at special events.
Farrell et al. (1998) in the study on volunteer motivation adapted a 28-item scale, which was developed by Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen (1991). Nine items from the Cnaan and Goldberg-Glen scale which were specific to volunteering in human service agencies were deleted and nine items specific to special events were added. In order to reflect the special event context the remaining 19 items were adapted. The scale was called the Special Event Volunteer Motivation Scale (SEVMS). The scale includes 28 items which represented four motivational factors: Purposive, Solidary, External Traditions, and Commitments.
The Purposive factor indicates a desire to do something useful and contribute to the community and the event. The second factor, termed solidary, relates to social interaction, group identification, and networking. The external traditions factor reflects motivations related to family traditions and the use of free time. The fourth factor, called commitments, indicates incentives that link external expectations and personal skills with commitment to volunteer. Farrell et al. (1998) found out that special event volunteer’s motives may differ from the motivations for other volunteer activities because of the nature of special events.
Farrell et al.’s multidimensional model of SEVMS was empirically supported by several studies (e.g., Grammatikopoulos, Koustelios, & Tsigilis, 2006; Johnston et al., 1999–2000; Twynam et al., 2002–2003). For instance, Twynam et al. (2002–2003), in their study of volunteers at the 1998 Star Choice World Junior Curling Tournament, confirmed the factorial structure of the SEVMS (quoted in Bang et al., 2009).
Monga (2006) developed a five-dimensional framework, based on unique characteristics of special events and available literature on special event volunteering. Two additional explanatory dimensions—affiliatory and egoistic motivations—were added to the prevailing three-dimensional model constituting altruistic/normative/purposive, material/utilitarian, and solidary/affective/social motivations. However, after conducting a factor analysis, Monga (2006) revealed six factors: affiliatory, feeling of fulfillment, solidary motivations, opportunity for career development and personal rewards.