Dynamics of Volunteer Performance: Developing and Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Received:October 15, 2017  Revised:October 15, 2017

Key Words:  volunteers, daily job performance, daily positive affect at work, daily work engagement, daily challenge demands, intra-individual effect

Author NameAffiliation
Xueqing Fan* Renmin University of China 
Jinlong Zhu0 Renmin University of China 
Zhaoli Song0 Renmin University of China 
Kan Shi0 Renmin University of China 

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Abstract:
      Volunteer performance tends to fluctuate substantially over time. However, such performance dynamics have long been overlooked in the volunteerism literature. To disclose the volunteer performance dynamics, we developed a model explaining how and when volunteers’ positive affect at work influence their daily performance. We tested our model using longitudinal data collected from 500 volunteers (total of 4,537 observations) at an expo activity in China. The results suggested that volunteers’ positive affect at work on the prior day was positively associated with their daily task and contextual performance, and those relationships were mediated by daily work engagement. Moreover, the mediation effects were stronger on the days when volunteers experience a higher level of challenge demands. Finally, we discussed implications of our findings about the covariations between volunteers’ positive affect and performance.

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