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A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability

Stirling, Christine, Kilpatrick, Sue and Orpin, Peter 2011, A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability, Human resource development international, vol. 14, no. 3, pp. 321-336.

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Title A psychological contract perspective to the link between non-profit organizations' management practices and volunteer sustainability
Author(s) Stirling, Christine
Kilpatrick, Sue
Orpin, Peter
Journal name Human resource development international
Volume number 14
Issue number 3
Start page 321
End page 336
Total pages 16
Publisher Routledge
Place of publication Oxon, England
Publication date 2011-07
ISSN 1367-8868
1469-8374
Keyword(s) health
non-profit
organizations
rural
volunteers
Summary This study applies the concept of the psychological contract to the relationship between management practices and volunteers. Formalization of the voluntary sector is impacting on volunteers’ experiences and may breach the psychological contract from the volunteers’ perspective. This mixed method study interviewed 67 volunteers and volunteer coordinators/administrators, and collected mail survey information from 152 volunteer organizations. The transactional management practices of keeping formal records and not paying volunteers out of pocket expenses are negatively associated with volunteer recruitment and retention. Alternatively, publicly recognizing volunteers through a volunteer newsletter supports volunteers’ relational expectations and is positively linked to adequate volunteer numbers. Our findings have important implications for the human resource development practices of non-profit organizations in dealing with their volunteers: they suggest that the relational expectations of volunteers are an important aspect of the psychological contract, which could be used by organizations as a framework for developing management practices that fit the volunteer ethos of trust and networks.
Language eng
Field of Research 160804 Rural Sociology
Socio Economic Objective 940199 Community Service (excl. Work) not elsewhere classified
HERDC Research category C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal
ERA Research output type C Journal article
Copyright notice ©2011, Taylor & Francis
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30035988

Document type: Journal Article
Collection: Alfred Deakin Research Institute
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