Distributive Justice for Volunteers

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nml.21251
• Author: Christine Hurst,Joseph Allen,Lisa Scherer
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

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N M  L, vol. 27, no. 3, Spring 2017 © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/nml.21251

Journal sponsored by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences, Case Western Reserve University.

Correspondence to: Christine Hurst, University of Nebraska at Omaha—Psychology, 6001 Dodge St., Omaha, Nebraska

68182. E-mail: churst@unomaha.edu.

Research Notes

Distributive Justice for Volunteers

EXTRINSIC OUTCOMES MATTER

Christine Hurst , Lisa Scherer , Joseph Allen

University of Nebraska at Omaha

Volunteer organizations continue to suffer from turnover; the current volunteer rate is the

lowest since 2002. Distributive justice, satisfaction, and extrinsic outcome importance

were examined as influences of volunteer intention to quit. Survey results from 294 vol-

unteers revealed that those who perceived less than fair distribution of extrinsic outcomes

experienced heightened intention to quit compared to those who perceived fair distribu-

tion. Overall satisfaction partially mediated this relationship. We explored the potential

moderating role of volunteers’ assessment of the importance of extrinsic outcomes on the

overall mediated relationship.

Keywords: volunteers , volunteer management

VOLUNTEER TURNOVER IS an increasing threat to nonprofi t organizations (Garner and Gar-

ner 2011 ). According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the current volunteer rate is the lowest

it has been since 2002 (Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013 ). Recently, research has given more

attention to volunteers’ reactions to management practices (for example, Follman, Cseh, and

Brudney 2016 ). Echoing Hager and Brudney ’ s ( 2004 ) caution, when nonprofi ts disregard such

volunteer management issues, it contributes to volunteer turnover. Further, such ignorance

hinders retention more so than do changes in interest or family situations (UPS Foundation

1998 ). Consequently, investigating which management practices infl uence volunteer retention

is imperative in decreasing turnover. Drawing on the employee literature, we examined distrib-

utive justice perceptions among volunteers as a predictor of their satisfaction and intentions to

leave because of its strong association with personal outcomes (McFarlin and Sweeney 1992 ).

More specifically, we examined whether volunteers’ perceptions of fairness, specific to

extrinsic outcome distribution, predict their intention to quit. Building upon organiza-

tional justice theory, we further investigated how volunteers’ satisfaction with experiences

may influence the perceptions of fairness and intent to end the volunteer relationship.

Additionally, drawing on Locke ’ s ( 1969 ) value theory, we explored whether the importance