Exploring the relationship between commitment, experience, and self-assessed performance in youth sport organizations

Youth sport organizations are dependent on the work of dedicated volunteers to function efficiently. However, these organizations are facing increasingly stringent management and legislative challenges and a closer scrutiny on their performance by sport governing bodies and other regulatory agencies. This study examined the links between organizational commitment, commitment to the volunteer role, and two aspects of volunteer performance (involvement and knowledge). A sample drawn from Little Athletics centre volunteers in Queensland in a variety of roles completed a survey instrument to assess the above links. Findings show that organizational commitment and experience as a centre volunteer predicted involvement, and that commitment to the role and experience predicted knowledge. These findings suggest that commitment to a volunteer role may be an important aspect of the volunteers’ identity and therefore closely linked to time devoted to organizational activities; commitment to the organization itself may better explain volunteers’ knowledge of organizational functioning. The findings are discussed in relation to the need to view commitment as an attachment to a volunteer role, as well as to an attachment to the organization as a whole.