Joshua Siegel and Willemijn van Dolen
Volunteers at child helplines play an important role in providing support for children, so keeping them satisfied during encounters is crucial to continue helping children. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Volunteers at child helplines play an important role in providing support for children, so keeping them satisfied during encounters is crucial to continue helping children. The purpose of this study is to understand how children’s perceptions of instrumental and emotional support (partner effects) influence volunteer encounter satisfaction, and whether this effect is moderated by a volunteer’s previous encounter experience and levels of interpersonal and service-offering adaptiveness.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample consisted of 377 dyads of 116 volunteers and 377 children from online service encounters at a child helpline. Questionnaires were used to measure satisfaction, support and volunteer adaptiveness. A multilevel model was estimated to test the hypothesized moderation effects.
Findings
This study revealed that the instrumental support partner effect positively influenced volunteer encounter satisfaction. This relationship was stronger when the previous encounter was less satisfying or for volunteers with higher interpersonal, but not higher service-offering, adaptiveness. Negative effects on the relationship between the emotional support partner effect and volunteer encounter satisfaction were found after a less satisfying previous encounter or for volunteers with higher interpersonal adaptiveness.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the services and volunteerism literature by providing a unique perspective on the interpersonal influence between volunteers and children during service encounters. In the context of child helplines, this paper illustrates how volunteer encounter satisfaction is a function of the intricate interplay between children’s perceptions of the service encounter and volunteers’ perceptions of previous experiences and their adaptiveness.
Details
Keywords
Mariasole Bannò, Emilia Filippi and Chiara Leggerini
The introduction of gender quota laws in many countries has garnered significant attention in the literature and in the political discourse. Proponents of this solution emphasise…
Abstract
Purpose
The introduction of gender quota laws in many countries has garnered significant attention in the literature and in the political discourse. Proponents of this solution emphasise its potential to bolster opportunities for women, foster their participation on boards of directors and improve corporate governance, market value and firm performance. Conversely, opponents express concerns regarding the possibility of appointing less-qualified women, thereby diminishing board effectiveness and potentially leading to negative consequences on firm market value and performance. This study aims to address this ongoing debate by examining the impact of gender quota laws on firm performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The impact of gender quota laws on firm performance, measured through ROE, ROA and ROI, is evaluated using a database of 27,977 Italian firms and adopting a two-stage traditional treatment effect model.
Findings
The econometric analysis reveals a negative impact of the gender quota law on firm performance.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the academic debate on the pros and cons of imposing gender quota laws by providing empirical evidence on their impact on firm performance.