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 volunteers has a linear negative effect on clearing
violent crimes in sheriffs' offices. However, we also find some
evidence that volunteer use displays curvilinear effects on clearing
violent crimes in police departments. This article suggests the need to
account for the systematic limitations of volunteer labor when measuring
performance and to explore multiple indicators. This study contributes to
theory building and testing by enabling a two-way understanding of the
relationship between volunteer involvement and organizational performance
in the public sector.