Does religiosity influence retention strategies in nonprofit organizations?

Despite the rise of interest in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) retention strategies and organizational behaviour micro-mechanisms, little research has specifically addressed volunteers’ religiosity and attitude towards the organization, and their links to motivation and intention to stay with NPOs. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of religiosity as an antecedent of volunteers’ intention to stay with the organization, and the mediating role of both volunteers’ motivation and attitude towards the organization in such a relationship. Building on motivational functions theory and the theory of planned behaviour, a conceptual model is proposed and empirically tested using bootstrapped multiple mediation analysis on a sample of 379 volunteers of NPOs located in Italy. The results support the role of religiosity as a significant predictor of volunteer intentions, and the mediating role of motivation and attitude on this relationship. Volunteers who are driven by their religious values are likely to develop a stronger motivation to volunteering and a positive attitude towards NPOs’ activities, and consequently a stronger willingness to stay with the organization. The study contributes to the literature on NPOs by stressing the role of antecedents and underlying mechanisms affecting volunteers’ motivation and, in turn, their intention to stay with the organization.