Does a difference in the motivation of volunteers and other people exist?

Abstract

The paper discusses the topic of volunteering. A key role in managing volunteer work is to stimulate them to support internal motivation. The management of volunteers needs to know volunteers needs for better setting of communications and conditions of the cooperation. This paper assesses the hypothesis: “People who would like to be a volunteer have different motivation structure than people who would not like to be”. The aim is supported by focusing on the motivation of volunteers who can not be stimulated by financial value. The nature volunteering causes the change in the hierarchy of volunteers needs in their projects. The paper is based on qualitative research as a questionnaire survey. The hypothesis that our concentrated groups have a different focus in the hierarchy of needs could be confirm, but it is necessary note that different sizes of respondent groups and factors (age, personal experiences, innate assumptions, personal types etc.) could lead to different results.