Uncovering the Motives and Experiences of Locally Sourced Volunteers at Two Events in Metropolitan Perth, Western Australia

This study sought to venture beyond the scope of previous research by examining two 2016 events that incorporated elements of different event types. The material events—the ISPS Handa Perth International golf tournament and the Telstra Perth Fashion Festival—were large-scale events with international stature and appeal. Both of those events present concomitant event characteristics: the golf tournament could be labeled as a sporting event and a community event or even a corporate event, while the fashion festival could be deemed as a community event and also a form of cultural celebration or possibly a business event. Notwithstanding that the events are dissimilar in terms of function and goal, the authors assert that the common defining characteristic was that the event volunteer recruitment was geographically localized using local area bounded recruitment drives. Consequently, those events were almost exclusively supported by Perth residents who identified the events as community events because of their considerable contribution. This study sought the opinions and perspectives of the volunteers of the two events with a specific focus on volunteering motivation. This research is timely given the worrying trend of diminishing rates of event volunteering due to attrition in the volunteer base. The outcomes of this study will provide event managers involved in organizing community-based events, where the focus of recruitment is on local volunteers, with more in-depth knowledge about the diversity of motivational factors brought about by the inherent heterogeneity in the volunteer base. Furthermore, insight is gained on the volunteer decision-making process and the factors volunteers take into consideration in deciding to commit themselves to an event.