A strategic human resource management approach to facilitating volunteer legacies from mega-sport events: the moderating impact of gender and experience in the case of Rio 2016

Volunteers are crucial for successful event delivery, from community to mega-events. Mega-sport events (MSE) are sold on their generative potential for social legacies for host communities like volunteering to support future community and tourism activity. With the lens of the temporal extension of the socioecological framework (TESEF), we propose that strategic human resource management (SHRM) across the volunteer journey will facilitate post-MSE legacy. A previously used online questionnaire, then structural equation modelling (SEM) is used to test ten hypotheses with 4,824 Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games volunteers. Analysis revealed four predictors (SHRM: recruitment, job allocation, and supervision; and Motivational: variety) have significant positive effects on overall satisfaction. However, volunteer training and overall satisfaction had a highly negative influence on legacy potential. SEM revealed the moderating effect of volunteers’ gender and prior experience. Gender moderated five relationship paths and experience moderated six relational paths. MSE management implications are explored.