Individual and Organizational Factors in the Interchangeability of Paid Staff and Volunteers: Perspectives of Volunteers

Laurie Mook, Eddie Farrell, Antony Chum, Femida Handy, Daniel Schugurensky, Jack Quarter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

This study builds upon earlier studies of the degree of interchangeability between volunteers and paid staff in nonprofit organizations. While these earlier studies were from an organization perspective, this study is from the perspective of volunteers, and looks at individual and organizational characteristics in all types of organizations—nonprofits, for-profits, government agencies, and others. The findings indicate that 10.8% of volunteers reported replacing a paid staff member, 3.1% permanently. Volunteers also reported being replaced by paid staff: 7.6% reported being replaced, 2.1% permanently. The study suggests that organizations utilize a co-production model and appear to interchange their paid staff and volunteers when needed in tasks requiring higher-level skills.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)65-85
Number of pages21
JournalCanadian Journal of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research
Volume5
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1 2014

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
  • Sociology and Political Science

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