The Commitment of Volunteers in Community-based Sport: an Explanatory Design Study

It is increasingly being recognized that the organizational commitment of volunteers is critical to the effective management and delivery of community-based sport. Most definitions of organizational commitment emphasize the attachments that an individual has for his or her organization. Positive attachments have been found to make the individual more likely to remain in the organization and exert effort on its behalf (Meyer & Allen, 1997). These outcomes are of key significance to voluntary sporting organizations, where turnover and performance have become topics of concern. Thus, sport organizations and managers should direct their efforts at fostering organizational commitment (Chelladurai, 2006). A large volume of research exists supporting the link between commitment and positive outcomes in paid employee settings (e.g., Meyer & Allen, 1997). Research examining the commitment of sports volunteers and its impact on key outcomes such as turnover and performance has only recently begun to emerge (e.g. Cuskelly & Boag, 2001) and there are still questions unanswered. For example, can volunteers become committed to other organizational targets, such as other volunteers in their organizations, or committed to the role(s) undertaken (e.g., official, coach, committee member)? If so, what are the implications of these commitments for performance and turnover? Research with paid workers has found that commitments directed to other organizational targets may improve the prediction of outcomes above and beyond organizational commitment alone. In addition to this, the question of the experience of being committed has not been explored from the perspective of the volunteer. This study contributes to the body of knowledge on volunteer commitment in sport by examining the nature and targets o