Organizational patterns of social Volunteerism in Germany and in Russia

Abstract

This article shows the similarities and differences between social volunteering in Germany and in Russia when it comes to organizational patterns: volunteer recruiting procedures, contractual relationships between volunteer and organization, interactions between the volunteer and officials, volunteer coaching. The theory of volunteering styles by Hustinx and Lammertyn, together with the volunteer management model theory by Zimmeck, act as theoretical framework. The empirical basis for the article is composed of 25 semi-structured interviews with Russian volunteers working for German (12 interviews) and Russian (13 interviews) social organizations, which were conducted during April-May 2014 via Skype. It is shown that the organizational patterns of social volunteering which are prevalent in Germany are characterized by volunteer-centeredness and professionalism to a much greater extent than in Russia’s case. It is inferred that the differences between countries when it comes to organizational patterns reflect opposing trends: on one hand we see establishing regular patterns of involving and organizing volunteers to facilitate them shaping role identities which are understandable to them, on the other hand – instability of organizational patterns, which hampers internalizing any kind of specific role norms and clear-cut borders between them.