UMI/ProQuest URL	http://80-wwwlib.umi.com/dissertations/fullcit/9132202
PUBLICATION NUMBER	AAT 9132202
TITLE	The existence of coercion in corporate voluntarism: An exploratory study
AUTHOR	Levang, Elizabeth
DEGREE	PhD
SCHOOL	FIELDING GRADUATE INSTITUTE
DATE	1991
PAGES	256
ADVISER	Veroff, Jody
ISBN
SOURCE	DAI-B 52/07, p. 3936, Jan 1992
SUBJECT	PSYCHOLOGY, INDUSTRIAL (0624); PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL (0451); BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, GENERAL (0310)
ABSTRACT	A relatively recent development in the history of organizations has been the creation of corporate voluntarism programs. While studies have been conducted to gather statistical information on this new phenomenon, the current study is the first of its kind to gather substantive knowledge of the interplay between corporate goals and employee behavior within corporate voluntarism programs. The purpose of the current study then was to explore the relationship between a corporation's efforts to seek compliance for voluntarism and an employee's decision-making process. The study attempted to determine if corporations use coercion in order to influence employees' behavior and, in addition, to assess the impact of coercion on an employee's satisfaction with an actual voluntarism assignment. The theory of psychological reactance (Brehm, 1966, 1968; Wicklund, 1974) was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The data set for this study were comprised of 211 subjects who represented 21 different corporations. Several of these organizations were Fortune 500 corporations, with others ranked as leading companies in their fields. The study gathered both qualitative and quantitative data in 5 separate areas: (1) Demographics; (2) Organizational climate, i.e., a 'climate for voluntarism'; (3) Coercion; (4) Voluntarism satisfaction; (5) Organizational commitment. The study suggested that the majority of subjects were coerced to some degree. Most of this influence was categorized as low rather than medium or high. The study demonstrated as well that a corporation's 'climate for voluntarism' contributed to coercion. The study gave evidence that subjects experienced psychological reactance as a result of the influence and coercion they encountered. In addition, the study found that the impact of coercion, through reactance, was a lowering of subjects' level of voluntarism satisfaction. Applications of the findings suggest a number of ways in which corporations, voluntarism clearinghouses, and nonprofit agencies may better support and encourage corporate voluntarism as well as more effectively screen and recruit volunteers.