Nonprofits’ Internal Marketing and Its Influences on Volunteers’ Experiences and Behavior: A Multiple Mediation Analysis

• In Event: Marketing and Engagement

Abstract

1 Background and Objectives

Effective volunteer management is a crucial success factor for NPOs and a prerequisite for their survival, especially in times of declining volunteer numbers (Harp, Scherer, & Allen, 2016). Consequently this study builds on recent research calls, to further evaluate antecedents and consequences of volunteers’ experiences in various nonprofit contexts (Alfes, Antunes, & Shantz, 2016). Hereby it contributes to research in two ways: First, it develops a three stage volunteer process model (Snyder und Omoto 2008) based on principal-agent-theory, stewardship theory, and existing research findings (Alfes, Shantz, & Bailey, 2016; Barnes & Sharpe, 2009). We hypothesize that internal marketing practices are positively associated with the way volunteers act in the interest of an organization (self-perceived performance and word-of-mouth activities) and that this relationship is mediated by volunteers’ satisfaction and organizational identification.
Secondly, it tests the proposed model in the arts sector, an especially challenging environment for volunteer management, using a multiple mediation analysis. Volunteers engaged in the arts sector are characterized as more self- and program-oriented than volunteers in other charitable NPOs (Wymer, 1997; Wymer & Brudney, 2000) and are driven by motives such as self-enrichment, self-expression, feelings of accomplishment (Edwards, 2005; Orr, 2006), and experiencing appealing work (Holmes, 2003). Therefore arts volunteer managers face a heterogeneous group to supervise (Deery, Jago, & Mair, 2011) and are in special need for instruments to manage volunteers successfully. Since cultural institutions increasingly apply and adapt marketing practices from the for-profit sector (e.g., Tsourvakas, Monastiridis, Goulaptsi, & Dekoulou, 2016), studying the effects of internal marketing in the arts sector is a promising new field of research.

2 Methodology and Findings

The data was collected from volunteers active in four arts organizations in Germany. Using PLS structural equation modelling, we conduct a multiple mediation analysis. Results indicate that satisfaction mediates the relationship between internal marketing and word-of-mouth as desirable volunteer behavior. Identification with the organization is another strong influencing factor on the volunteer performance and word-of-mouth but not directly linked as a mediator on internal marketing activities. Hereby we enhance knowledge on the role of internal marketing within the volunteer management process and its relationship with other, desirable variables. Based on this analysis, we discuss these results as well as implications for research and management.

Authors

• Hellen Petra Gross, University of Applied Sciences Saarbrücken

• Maren Rottler, University of Mannheim