Decentralization of disaster management calls every sector to contribute to disaster management—including private citizens. While literature on formal volunteering is rich, less is known about drivers of informal volunteering and the differences between doing so spontaneously or with prompting from authorities. Drawing on social capital theory, we investigated whether beliefs in reciprocity and individual values impact informal volunteering intentions in a disaster. 1,019 Finnish participants completed an online survey. Unexpectedly, demographic variables did not impact volunteering intentions, but those who trusted authorities and expected that one would receive help from others were more likely to volunteer when prompted by authorities. Furthermore, those higher in other-focused values were more likely to volunteer both spontaneously and when asked by authorities. We show that expectations of reciprocity and concern for others promote informal volunteering, demonstrating people’s willingness to help, and illuminating ways through which to engage private citizens in disaster management.
Malinen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.
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