Start Date
11-8-2016
Description
Conceptually, volunteer organizations need a way to harness the power of social media to recruit volunteers. But how can social media affect individuals’ willingness to volunteer? One potentially useful theory is process virtualization theory (PVT). PVT states that information technology (IT) moderates the effectiveness of virtualizing a process based on the process’ physical requirements. An individual’s decision whether to work for a volunteer organization is a type of process that involves both the individual and the organization. In this study, we present a survey instrument to measure social media’s effects on an individual’s decision to volunteer. It is the first faithful operationalization of PVT and the first attempt to suggest a theoretical explanation of social media’s effectiveness in virtualizing a volunteer organization process. It contributes to research on nonprofits and volunteer organization management and the nascent research on social media’s effects on individual decision making.
Recommended Citation
Connolly, Amy and Judge, Patrick, "Process Virtualization Theory and Social Media’s Effects on the Decision to Volunteer" (2016). AMCIS 2016 Proceedings. 6.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/amcis2016/SCU/Presentations/6
Process Virtualization Theory and Social Media’s Effects on the Decision to Volunteer
Conceptually, volunteer organizations need a way to harness the power of social media to recruit volunteers. But how can social media affect individuals’ willingness to volunteer? One potentially useful theory is process virtualization theory (PVT). PVT states that information technology (IT) moderates the effectiveness of virtualizing a process based on the process’ physical requirements. An individual’s decision whether to work for a volunteer organization is a type of process that involves both the individual and the organization. In this study, we present a survey instrument to measure social media’s effects on an individual’s decision to volunteer. It is the first faithful operationalization of PVT and the first attempt to suggest a theoretical explanation of social media’s effectiveness in virtualizing a volunteer organization process. It contributes to research on nonprofits and volunteer organization management and the nascent research on social media’s effects on individual decision making.