Motivations and Expectations of Olympic Volunteers: Building a Legacy of Personal Development as a Key Factor for the Success of Sports Mega-Events

Abstract The scientific breakthrough in understanding the role of sports volunteers, as well as the importance of motivation and expectations management in decision-making, has boosted several studies, helping to reinforce the conceptual idea of a sports legacy, especially in relation to the participation and involvement of Olympic volunteers. In this sense, and reinforcing this idea, this study aimed to analyse and measure the perception of sports volunteers regarding the motivations and expectations arising from their participation in the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The study followed a quantitative-descriptive and inferential methodology, with a validated sample of 828 responses collected through a semi-structured questionnaire adapted from the original VMS-ISE motivation scale. The results point to a reinforcement of the perceived importance and value associated with participation in the Olympic Games that translate into high levels of motivation and satisfaction by most of the volunteers involved. The most valued factors were the feeling of pleasure promoted by the experience, the possibility of personal and professional development, the passion for the Olympic Games, and the passion for sport. The majority of the candidates validated the post-event expectations as having exceeded their initial ones, and 92.0% of the volunteers would participate in a similar event again. The study allows the reinforcement of sports volunteers intentions and expectations, while validating and confirming previous studies on the importance of motivation and personal development in a successful recruitment strategy that fosters regular and consolidated participation of previous volunteers.