Hersberger-Langloh, von Schnurbein, Kang, Almog-Bar, García-Colín, & García - For the love of art?
Hersberger-Langloh, S.E., von Schnurbein, G., Kang, C., Almog-Bar, M., García-Colín, J. B., & Rey García, M. (2022). For the love of art? Episodic volunteering at cultural events. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 33: 428–442.
This article is an important contribution to understanding the motives and dynamics of episodic volunteering in the cultural field. This type of volunteering is characterised by informal, short-term, or event-based engagements. It is increasing in all sectors, including the cultural one, as a a consequence of increasing time constraints and less commitment to long-term engagements in the contemporary context.
In empirical research on which the article is based, the authors analysed and compared the demographic characteristics, motives, and volunteer experiences of more than 2,000 episodic cultural event volunteers and social event volunteers from five continents and 15 countries. A comparison of cultural and social event volunteers found that cultural event volunteers showed higher time engagement but were more self-serving in their motives. The analysis also emphasised intrinsic motives over extrinsic motives, leading to the conclusion that saturation of extrinsic motives reduces willingness for future engagements. This underscores the importance of nurturing intrinsic motives that connect volunteers to cultural organisations.
Hersberger-Langloh, von Schnurbein, Kang, Almog-Bar, García-Colín, & García ”For the love of art? Episodic volunteering at cultural events”