A model of volunteer intention at a mega-event : the London 2012 Olympics

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] The utilization to employ volunteers within festivals, events, and mega-events has become increasingly popular due to the advantageous skills and knowledge that contributes to the overall success of an event. The notion to do be involved in activities without the expectation of anything in return creates a need to understand why these individuals are willing to be involved in volunteering activities without demanding anything in return. In addition, being able to retain the same individual for future volunteering activities, referred to as intention, has a long term benefit for organizations and destinations. To understand what attracts individuals to volunteering, motivational functions as identified in the Volunteer Function Index and Olympic Volunteer Motivation Scale is used to evaluate the functions that are achieved through volunteering in the London 2012 Olympics that result in positive intention to continue volunteering. Other factors examined include previous experience, satisfaction, and skill development. Through a serious of statistical analysis, the salient motivation functions were identified and are as follows: value, understanding, career, and Olympic. Interactions between motivation and satisfaction resulted in the best prediction of intention along with previous volunteer experience and skill development through volunteering. Practical and managerial implications and are presented in the discussion of the study to include findings from hospitality and non-hospitality working areas