Collective Agency for Service Volunteers A Critical Realist Study of Identity Representation

• Published in: Administration & society Vol. 43; no. 2; pp. 193 - 215
• Main Authors: Stirling, Christine, Bull, Rosalind
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Beverly Hills SAGE Publications 01.03.2011; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Ambulance service; Ambulance services; Collectives; Communities; Community service; Community Services; Community volunteers; Critical realism; Discourse; Discourses; Group identity; Identity; Location; Marginality; Organizational support; Policy Making; Power; Power Structure; Public services; Representation; Rural Areas; Services; Social policy; Studies; Volunteers; critical realism; volunteer; agency; identity; service; policy
• ISSN: 0095-3997; 1552-3039
• DOI: 10.1177/0095399711400046

Policy makers promote volunteering in part because it is a powerful mechanism for expanding local community services. Volunteers, however, are subject to processes and power dynamics within organizations, which limit their collective agency. This article reports key findings of a study of rural ambulance volunteers’ agency. The study demonstrated that collective identity is part of the ensemble of power that allows volunteers’ interests to be marginalized within organizations. Findings highlighted barriers for volunteers who were unhappy with the organizational support they received. A critical realist analysis revealed that rural location and community discourses underpinned the volunteers’ lack of collective agency.