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STUDENT VOLUNTEERING at BUSINESS EVENTS in CHINA: MOTIVATIONS and CONCEPTUALIZATION by Hongxia Qi a Thesis Submitted to the Vi

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STUDENT VOLUNTEERING at BUSINESS EVENTS in CHINA: MOTIVATIONS and CONCEPTUALIZATION by Hongxia Qi a Thesis Submitted to the Vi STUDENT VOLUNTEERING AT BUSINESS EVENTS IN CHINA: MOTIVATIONS AND CONCEPTUALIZATION By Hongxia Qi A thesis Submitted to the Victoria University of Wellington In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Tourism Management Victoria University of Wellington 2018 Abstract With the continuous growth of the global event industry, the importance of event volunteering has been widely acknowledged, while the understanding beyond sports events is overlooked. Moreover, the current literature on event volunteering is very Western-centric, and volunteering in different cultural contexts needs to be further explored. China is undergoing substantial economic and social changes and scholarly attention has been given to its tourism development. However, little is known about volunteering in the Chinese context. This thesis examines student volunteering at business events in China by studying students’ motivations for getting involved in volunteer activities at business events and conceptualization of this phenomenon. An adapted constructivist grounded theory approach was applied. This qualitative study started with the researcher’s auto-ethnography, demonstrating the emersion of the researcher in the explored field to gain a richness of data. This was followed by in-depth interviews with data triangulation from three groups: students, business event organisers, and education institution administrators. The combination of different methods reflected the holistic and critical research approach within the research paradigm, with a relativistic ontology, a subjectivist epistemology, and a naturalistic method. In the first stage of auto-ethnography, the researcher became an ‘insider’ at two business events in China and used personal experience to gain a fuller understanding of volunteering in this context. In the second stage, semi-structured interviews captured the perspectives of 20 students, 10 organisers, and 9 education institution administrators. Data were then analysed by a two-stage coding process using NVivo. Five themes and two frameworks of motivations and conceptualization emerged from the analysis. The identified motivations were complex, with students driven by instrumental and self-centred motives, demonstrating the characteristics of reflexive volunteers. Volunteering was a tool to construct distinctive personal identities and achieve self-realization. Regarding the concept of student volunteering at business events, participants had a broad understanding relating to this phenomenon. The voluntary exchange nature was prominent with symbolic, productive, and economic elements. Monetary remunerations were accepted and the behaviours were not purely students’ free choice, however, the voluntary spirit formed a distinctive line between volunteering at business events and other social activities. The results ii illustrated the complexity of the concept by encapsulating notions of reflexive volunteering, personal benefits, payment, exchange nature, voluntary spirit, and independent choice. Based on the exploration of motivation and conceptualization, it was identified that the phenomenon under research was a Chinese culturally specific construction of volunteering with the concepts of zhi yuan (volunteering) and zhi yuan zhe (volunteer(s)) demonstrating the culturally-situated understanding. Students’ zhi yuan service at business events was multi- dimensional and paradoxical, which transcended altruism/solidarity explanations for volunteer motivation and the dichotomy of paid employment/unpaid work. The findings contribute to the cultural understanding of volunteering and suggests further debate about the understanding of volunteering in different countries to capture the complexities of the embedded sociality residing in volunteering practices. The results of this research have important implications for scholars and practitioners in terms of volunteering research, volunteer management, and volunteer programme establishment. iii Acknowledgements My thanks and appreciation are far weightier than expressed here and continues beyond these written statements. During the past three years, innumerable people have assisted me in my Ph.D. study. They have offered their time, knowledge, wisdom, and support for me. Special thanks: To my supervisors Professor Karen Smith and Associate Professor Ian Yeoman for their incisive critiques, timely guidance, and encouragement and especially for their support during the tenuous and vulnerable periods I experienced in the preparation of proposal and this thesis. To all my colleagues and friends for keeping me sane during these years. To the volunteers in this study, thank you so much for your time and support. I would also like to thank all the staff member at VUW who provided support or offered friendly encouragement and suggestions. I am also indebted to VUW for giving me the financial support through the Ph.D. scholarships. Without this, I would have been unable to commence and complete this project. Finally, I want to thank my parents for supporting me in these years. iv Table of Contents 1 Introducing the study 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Background to the study ............................................................................................ 1 1.3 Volunteers at business events .................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research context – China........................................................................................... 6 1.5 Research questions ..................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 10 1.7 Contribution to the knowledge................................................................................. 11 1.8 Chapter outline ......................................................................................................... 12 2 Volunteers and events: A literature review 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 14 2.2 Volunteering in China: Background and context..................................................... 16 2.2.1 Civic society and volunteering ......................................................................... 16 2.2.2 Volunteer culture in China ............................................................................... 18 2.2.3 Students and volunteer activities ..................................................................... 20 2.3 Volunteer motivations .............................................................................................. 21 2.3.1 Volunteer motivations in Western countries .................................................... 22 2.3.2 Volunteer motivations in China ....................................................................... 23 2.3.3 Volunteer motivations at events....................................................................... 25 2.3.4 Student volunteer motivations ......................................................................... 28 2.3.5 Synthesis of research on volunteer motivations............................................... 31 2.4 Conceptualisation of volunteering ........................................................................... 35 2.4.1 The Western perspective .................................................................................. 35 2.4.2 Other cultural perspectives .............................................................................. 42 2.5 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................. 44 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 46 3 Research paradigm and methodology 3.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 48 3.2 Research paradigm ................................................................................................... 49 3.3 Role of the researcher .............................................................................................. 53 3.4 Qualitative research strategies ................................................................................. 54 v 3.4.1 Rational for a qualitative research design ........................................................ 54 3.4.2 Grounded theory design ................................................................................... 55 3.4.3 Methods............................................................................................................ 58 3.5 Data collection ......................................................................................................... 62 3.5.1 Phase 1: Auto-ethnography .............................................................................. 63 3.5.2 Phase 2: Interviews .......................................................................................... 67 3.6 Data analysis ............................................................................................................ 72 3.6.1 Analytical framework ...................................................................................... 72 3.6.2 Coding .............................................................................................................
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