Egoism and Commitment: A Multidimensional Approach to Understanding Sustained Volunteering

摘要

Agencies that depend on volunteers for delivery of services often find attracting and retaining those volunteers to be particularly challenging. The volunteer research shows that successful recruiting and retention programs are based, in part, on: (1) understanding why people volunteer and (2) developing volunteer commitment to their agency. A common theme in the volunteerism literature is whether or not individuals' predispositions to altruism and egoism can predict their decisions regarding volunteering. These studies have validated altruism as a multidimensional construct; however, the egoism construct has not been as thoroughly conceptualized.rnIn the present research, egoism is examined in two steps. In Step One, data collected from 120 volunteers were submitted to a factor analysis. Three egoism dimensions emerged: Inward Egoism, Outward Egoism, and Experiential Egoism. In Step Two, hypotheses were developed for relationships between the three egoism dimensions and commitment. Using O'Reilly and Chatman's (1986) conceptualization of commitment, we found that Outward Egoism and Inward Egoism are associated with Compliance, and Experiential Egoism is associated with Identification and Internali-zation. The hypothesized link between Inward Egoism and Identification was not supported. Research implications and application of the multidimensional egoism construct are discussed. Recommendations are offered for integrating egoism and altruism to understand the reasons for the volunteer to make a long-term commitment.