The Hedonic and Utilitarian Value of Volunteering as an Act of Symbolic Consumption: An Abstract

Due to scarce resource allocation, many nonprofit organizations suffer from low levels of staffing and depend on volunteers. The act of volunteering has been conceptualized as an act of symbolic consumption. Thus, the directors of nonprofits should strive to create volunteer experiences that provide value to the volunteer. This study is the first step in developing scales that measure value to the individual who volunteers at a nonprofit organization. The researchers began by conducting in-depth interviews with six female volunteers from a free medical clinic with extensive experience as volunteers.