Unpacking non-profit brand heritage : creating more satisfied and committed volunteers

This thesis makes a five-fold contribution to knowledge in the areas of theory, context, method, and management practice. It combines brand heritage, communitas, brand image, work engagement, affective commitment and satisfaction with management to develop a new theoretical model showing empirically, the contribution of brand heritage the history, image, symbols and story an organisation tells about its origins, evolution, and values and the interplay between these theoretical constructs for the first time. Second, it contributes to context through empirical demonstration of the appropriateness of brand heritage and communitas to the non-profit sector. Third, contributing to method, the research applied a mixed methodology, which included the use of a formative (as opposed to reflective) measurement model for brand heritage. It also contributes through conceptualizing for the first time, brand image and volunteer engagement as higher-order measurement models. Finally, contributing to management practice, this thesis outlines to managers the importance of nurturing, and cultivating a strong brand heritage, and ensuring it is leveraged appropriately to retain and attract satisfied, and committed volunteers. The data was collected in two phases. The first was conducted via questionnaires distributed amongst Scout volunteers to test the newly developed theoretical model, while the second phase enhanced understanding through semi-structured interviews with volunteers, complementing the validated theoretical model. The data demonstrates brand heritage makes a substantial contribution to volunteer management, and can positively impact upon volunteers’ experiences, and a volunteer organisation’s ability to retain them. Furthermore, the data shows the importance of cultivating non-profit brand heritage and suggests heritage custodianship as an important, but previously unidentified area of non-profit management focus. More broadly, this thesis offers guidance to non-profit managers for retaining volunteers, and vindicates further consideration of the contribution traditionally private sector management practices can have within the non-profit sector. Dedication This thesis is dedicated to the volunteers who inspired it. Acknowledgements Many PhD holders comment on the challenge of the PhD journey highlighting, in particular, the loneliness of a process involving many long days and nights by a computer, accompanied only by one’s thoughts, anxieties, and mounting self-doubt. Although my PhD experience has certainly included these elements, it has also contained many highs; finally satisfying reviewer 2, presenting at international conferences, and the satisfaction of helping students develop and grow in fulfilment of my teaching responsibilities. Yet, the most satisfying outcome of this whole process has been the reiteration of the importance of those people who matter most and, indeed, I have no doubt the PhD process could not have been completed without them. First of all, I owe sincere thanks to Liz, who from the outset supported my ambition to leave Japan and undertake my PhD studies in Edinburgh, despite the challenges it presented to maintaining our relationship several continents and time-zones apart. Liz, the support you have given me, and the belief you have shown over the last three years has often been the difference between keeping going, or giving up, I could not have progressed this far without you. I am eternally indebted to Professor Kevin O’Gorman, and Dr Babak Taheri, who have been a tremendous support to me throughout the PhD process. Their patience and commitment towards me has been above and beyond the call of duty, setting a benchmark of supervision I will strive to offer to any supervisees I may have in the future. I owe gratitude also to Professor Robert MacIntosh for his contribution to publication projects related to this thesis, and constructive criticism on aspects of it. Additionally, I would like to thank my parents and family, for their continued support, for always pushing me to be the best I can, and for providing the appropriate grounding when necessary. The arrival of a new niece during the PhD process further helped in maintaining my perspective of the important things in life, and I hope a copy of this thesis will not impact too negatively upon Dolly’s enthusiasm for reading in the future! Finally, the process of researching and writing this project has opened my eyes to the inspirational work carried out by so many people, not for financial gain, but simply to improve the lives of others, and better the society we share. During the data collection process, and through attending academic and industry conferences (ARNOVA, AVM), I was moved by the lengths volunteers will go to make a difference, and it is to them that this thesis is dedicated.