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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Volunteering in Religious Events

subject

description

Religious event volunteering is a contemporary form of religious tourism that has interest for both scholars and practitioners: for the former, it is a social behavior that can be analyzed through many disciplines, consumer behavior being the one chosen here; for the latter, religious events do contribute to destinations development, although their impact is difficult to measure. This chapter explores (conceptually) the common origins of religion and volunteering and reviews briefly the event marketing to better understand the second part, which (empirically) reflects the results of two surveys undertaken with volunteers in two Catholic mega-events held in Spain. Findings show appropriateness of the consumer value-based approach as a trade-off between benefits (efficiency, social value, entertainment, and spirituality) and effort (time and effort spent) outcomes of volunteering. These value dimensions are also embedded in a chain of effects value-satisfaction-loyalty (as likelihood of repeating or/and recommending). Guidelines for organizations dealing with religious events as a form of religious tourism are offered.