Volunteers in Public Service Production: Modeling the Contributions of Volunteers to Organizational Performance

Volunteer use is an alternative service delivery arrangement in which public organizations directly involve volunteers in service production through a quasi-employment relationship. However, research evaluating the contributions of volunteer labor to organizational performance is relatively few. This article fills this gap by drawing from two theoretical insights. First, we test a linear model based on the traditional human resource management approach of interchangeability in which volunteers constitute a one-on-one substitute for paid employees. Second, we draw insight from critical mass theory to test a nonlinear model based on the assumption that the productivity of one volunteer may not be equal to that of one paid employee due to the systematic limitations of volunteer labor. Analyzing a large-N panel dataset of law enforcement agencies in the United States that utilize sworn volunteers with general arrest powers, the findings indicate that an increase in the number of sworn volun..., , STATA

志愿服务是一类替代性服务供给安排，指公共组织通过准雇佣关系直接吸纳志愿者参与服务生产。当前针对志愿者劳动对组织绩效贡献的评估研究相对不足。本文依托两大理论视角填补了这一研究空白：其一，我们基于传统人力资源管理（human resource management）的可互换性逻辑构建线性模型，该模型将志愿者视作带薪雇员的一对一替代主体；其二，我们借鉴临界质量理论（critical mass theory），检验基于下述假设的非线性模型：鉴于志愿者劳动存在系统性局限，单名志愿者的生产力未必等同于单名带薪雇员。本文对美国配备一般逮捕权限的宣誓志愿者执法机构展开大N面板数据集分析，研究结果表明，宣誓志愿者数量的增长……，，STATA