Understanding the motivation and satisfaction for volunteering at sports events in the context of Covid-19. : The case of the 2021 Lahti Ski Games

Sammanfattning: Volunteers are essential for the success of almost any organized event. However, volunteering has undergone a process of modernization, in which altruistic or collective forms of volunteering, motivated by intrinsic behaviors, have been replaced by more egoistic or reflexive ones, which are extrinsically motivated. The purpose of this master’s thesis, following qualitative methodologies in the form of semi-structured interviews and my personal observations, the factors of motivation and satisfaction of nine volunteers from the 2021 Lahti Ski Games, as well as how their previous volunteering satisfaction could have impacted their motivation to engage in volunteering action this year have been analyzed. Furthermore, given that the event took place during the Covid-19 pandemic, the implications of the virus on the motives to volunteer and its consequent events on the volunteering experience have been investigated.Results demonstrate that despite both types of motivation to volunteer are shown among participants, modern forms of volunteerism seem to have a higher presence. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that previous volunteering satisfaction has a clear influence on the intentions to volunteer in the future. Finally, it is stated that the event taking place during the Covid-19 pandemic did not influence the motivation as much as the satisfaction of the volunteering experience. Thus, this thesis generates unique knowledge on the topics of volunteering motivation and satisfaction. However, the implications of Covid-19 have not been yet deeply investigated and it suggests that further research could be conducted on the topic.