Title: A meta-analysis of gender differences in volunteers' motivations: sport vs. non-sport events

Authors: Sanghyun Park; Doyeon Won; David J. Shonk

Addresses: Department of Sport Industry Studies, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, South Korea ' Department of Kinesiology, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, 6630 Ocean Drive, Unit 5820, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA ' Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management, James Madison University, 261 Bluestone Drive, Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807, USA

Abstract: The current study meta-analytically examined empirical studies to assess the gender differences in volunteer motivation, using the volunteer function inventory (VFI), and investigated the moderating effect of volunteering context (sport vs. non-sport events) on the relationship between volunteer gender and motivation. A total of 19 studies, published from 2007 to 2017, met the inclusion criteria, and were reviewed by two readers. Cohen's Kappa was calculated for the reliability between the two coders and all meta-analyses were conducted using the comprehensive meta-analysis (CMA) program. Results from this meta-study suggested that women scored higher than men on three of the six subscales of the VFI instrument, particularly social, understanding and value-related motivation. Moderator analyses indicated the type of volunteering context is a meaningful moderator of the relationship between gender and motivation. The results also suggested the volunteering context influenced the magnitude and direction of gender differences in all motivational dimensions, except social motivation.

Keywords: volunteer management; volunteer function inventory; VFI; volunteer motivation; meta-analysis; sport events.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSSOC.2019.103693

International Journal of Sustainable Society, 2019 Vol.11 No.3, pp.186 - 201

Received: 10 Sep 2018
Accepted: 23 Apr 2019

Published online: 22 Nov 2019 *

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