In academic research, employee satisfaction remains a significant topic. Among these studies, the relationship between job satisfaction and altruism holds a prominent place. Research into this relationship shows considerable interest in the mediating relationship. The high number of studies demonstrating a close relationship between volunteerism and these two variables is noteworthy. Therefore, this study aims to systematically evaluate the intellectual structure and evolution of publications on the role of volunteerism in the context of the relationship between altruism and job satisfaction, using bibliometric analyses. Forty-nine peer-reviewed publications from 40 sources covering the period between 2003 and 2025 were included in the study. Bibliometric and VOS visualization tools were used to map the academic environment, and keyword trends, author, institutional, and country collaborations, and thematic clusters were analyzed. These studies, involving contributions from 161 authors, showed a high collaboration index of 28.57. The research appears to have a multidisciplinary design. In terms of geographical distribution, a regional clustering is observed, dominated by studies centered in the USA and China. When examining the prominent thematic clusters, it was found that the study was structured along three axes: (a) the psychological preconditions of volunteering within the framework of intrinsic motivation, (b) the relationship between altruism and volunteering and organizational well-being and job satisfaction, and (c) the prosocial-based socio-ethical dimension of volunteering. The conceptual network structure of the study concluded that volunteering is a variable that functions as a bridge between altruistic motivational processes and organizational well-being outcomes.
Orhan et al. (2026) studied this question.