Paid staff in for-profit volunteer tourism sending organisations: A role identity perspective

The volunteer tourism sector has witnessed significant expansion globally in recent decades. With the increase in commercialisation in the volunteer tourism sector, for-profit volunteer tourism sending organisations have grown rapidly. However, the existing literature on the impact of commercialisation predominantly focuses on volunteer tourists and host communities, with limited research on staff members working in for-profit organisations. This research fills a critical gap by exploring the perceptions of staff members in for-profit volunteer tourism sending organisations regarding their roles within the contemporary volunteer tourism landscape. Role identity theory offers a framework for examining this research in two main areas. First, it aids in understanding how paid staff in for-profit volunteer tourism organisations perceive their roles and the meanings they assign to them. Second, it provides a way to analyse the factors associated with these role identities and how they impact the behaviours, thoughts, and feelings of these staff members within the commercialised environment of volunteer tourism.

Utilising a qualitative methodology informed by an interpretivist research paradigm, two rounds of data collection were conducted with overall 35 participants from nine volunteer tourism sending organisations. The participants were selected from both Chinese and international samples. The interviews were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic when travel activities were significantly restricted, resulting in the inclusion of both current and former volunteer tourism staff in the research. Thematic template analysis was employed in five stages of data analysis, starting with exploring the role identities of the participants. This was followed by understanding the application of those role identities in the pre-trip, in-trip, and post-trip phases of volunteer tourism. Lastly, the analysis synthesised the various influencing factors on volunteer tourism staff role identities.

From the data analysis, four overarching roles, namely professional, supporter, influencer, and self-actualiser, emerged along with 21 sub-roles. These self-perceived roles were then applied across the three phases of volunteer tourism trips, resulting in a continuum of role identities for volunteer tourism staff. This continuum encompasses job-oriented and mission-oriented identities at either end, with purpose-oriented identities occupying the centre of the continuum. Furthermore, the study identified ten influencing factors on role identity, grouped into three higher-level categories: work, society, and self. These factors impact the strength of the perceived role identities of volunteer tourism staff and contribute to establishing a balanced role identity within the for-profit operations of the volunteer tourism sector.

The main contribution of this thesis is the development of a model – a role identity continuum for paid staff in for-profit volunteer tourism sending organisations. This continuum encompasses both the conventional and idiosyncratic dimensions of role identity, considering how volunteer tourism staff prioritise their multiple roles across various phases of volunteer tourism to navigate the tensions arising from increasing commercialisation in the sector. The role identity continuum lays the groundwork for future research on personnel in the volunteer tourism sector and the exploration of role identity within a for-profit business context. The finding also extends its implications to comprehend staff’s role identities within the broader tourism industry. This research has also provided contextual insights into the role identity of paid staff in commercial settings and has contributed knowledge about volunteer tourism sending organisations from both the Global North and Global South. Practically, the findings of this research hold significant implications for volunteer tourism organisations regarding their staff recruitment, training, and retention practices.