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Open Access CC BY V4.0
Journal article
A Service Ecosystems Approach for Sustainable Volunteer Engagement: Developing Insights From COVID-19 Disruptions
Nonprofit management & leadership, Early View
2026
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to develop foundational propositions designed to reflect success factors in the recruitment and retention of volunteers for future longevity. Using insights gathered from three universities' experiences of student volunteering during COVID-19, plus capturing the experiences of volunteer involving organizations, we draw on existing theories, as well as service ecosystem literature, to identify critical emerging trends. We argue that conceptualizing volunteer pathways as a set of linear, sequential stages linked to a single volunteering experience does not adequately capture the complexity of the volunteer ecosystem, including the dynamic inter-relationships among actors and the multiple roles each actor may assume. We also take a collective view of the sector by incorporating the perspectives of both the individual volunteer, and the volunteer involving organization. Our propositions reflect the need to take a broader, more nuanced perspective to capture the multiple stakeholders and their needs and drivers within the volunteering ecosystem. We show that a significant interruption like COVID-19 can result in shifts in technology, word-of-mouth (WOM) recruiting, volunteer function, role preference, and commitment. Taking a propositional approach, we conceptualize core foundations around volunteer engagement, digital platforms, and episodic volunteering to better equip volunteer managers to source a reliable volunteering resource over the long term.
Details
- Title
- A Service Ecosystems Approach for Sustainable Volunteer Engagement: Developing Insights From COVID-19 Disruptions
- Authors/Creators
- Ingrid O'Brien - Murdoch University, Murdoch Business SchoolFazlul K. Rabbanee - Curtin UniversityEunjung Kim - School of Business and Law Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, AustraliaMegan Paull - Murdoch University, Murdoch Business SchoolKirsten Holmes - School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, Perth, WA, AustraliaJo Anne Kestel - Murdoch University, Murdoch Business School
- Publication Details
- Nonprofit management & leadership, Early View
- Publisher
- Wiley Periodicals LLC.
- Number of pages
- 15
- Identifiers
- 991005904174607891
- Copyright
- © 2026 The Author(s).
- Murdoch Affiliation
- Murdoch Business School
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article
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