Enhancing volunteer experiences: using communitas to improve engagement and commitment

This research explores the interplay between brand image, communitas, volunteer work engagement and affective commitment to develop understanding of the importance of fostering communitas experiences within voluntary organisations and communicating these to volunteers. The research draws on a survey of 1248 active Scout volunteers in Scotland, structural equation modelling using SmartPLS3 was used to develop a new theoretical model which measured both brand image and work engagement as second-order constructs. The findings indicate brand image has a positive relationship with communitas, work engagement, and affective commitment amongst volunteers, and that communitas and work engagement positively mediate the relationship between brand image and volunteer affective commitment. Consequently, we suggest non-profit managers should facilitate and deliver powerful communitas experiences for volunteers to enhance their engagement and affective commitment by emphasising communitas throughout volunteering programmes.