Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

This project explores the interaction of volunteer motivation and the process of organizational socialization (OS). This process of socialization is the process through which newcomers integrate into an existing body of “workers” and learn about the job, organizational values, required skills, and hierarchy and power relations on the work floor (Feldman, 1981, p. 3). The outcomes of OS have been identified to include retention, improved morale, lower turnover, improved skills and efficiency, and better service quality (Cooper-Thomas and Anderson, 2006). In recent years the area of applying classic human resource management to volunteers has become a focal point of research. The mixed results on the efficiency of classical HRM for volunteers has proposed that volunteer resource management (VRM) needs to adapt and complement classical HRM (Studer, 2016). More specifically the interaction of volunteer motivation and volunteer learning and volunteer socialization (VS) contexts have been under researched. By exploring these interactions, this project wields an improved understanding of the integration of volunteers and the integration of volunteers with paid employees. By improving socialization for volunteers, the organization can work towards adapting to volunteers and encourage positive volunteer integration. The benefits flowing from this project include practical recommendations for volunteer management and improved volunteer retention and satisfaction. The academic contributions focus on understanding the interaction of VS context and volunteer motivations to assess the effectiveness of Volunteer Socialization (VS) context for volunteers and developing a model for VS within a service sector context.