The concept of utility interdependence in volunteering behavior posits that the community's need influences one's behavioral decision to volunteer because people account for others' utility or welfare when determining own utility in a social setting. Specifically, one's volunteering is affected by the community's need for volunteer, cost of contribution, and the level of resource available. The level of resource available is indicated by socioeconomic status, and cost of contribution includes the forgone opportunity to free ride (i.e., rely on others to volunteer) and time cost (measured inversely in terms of time available). The findings of a survey indicate that community's need, forgone benefit of free-riding (as a cost of contribution), and resource available are significantly related to volunteering, indicating significant utility interdependence.
Video Utility interdependence
Community need
The concept of utility interdependence suggests that others' welfare enters one's utility function and affects the person's behavioral choice in a social setting. In a similar vein, Bergstrom (1999) showed several systems of benevolent utility functions, in which people gain pleasure from observing the happiness of others. Prior studies on helping behavior have specifically emphasized the importance of others' need. Schwartz (1977) suggested that helping begins with an awareness of others' need. Perceiving the existence of a need activates one's cognitive processing about the actions required and leads to the formation of helping intention. In a literature review of more than 500 studies on various helping behaviors such as blood donation, organ donation, and money donation, Bekkers et al. (2010) concluded that awareness of others' need is an important determinant and the first prerequisite of philanthropy, and the degree of need for help is positively related to the likelihood that help will be given.
Maps Utility interdependence
Socioeconomic status
Socioeconomic status is important because the economic literature indicates that income is positively related to philanthropic activity. Socioeconomic status is a valid indicator of resource available because volunteering would incur some costs. Adequate income is necessary to cover the costs, thereby enabling individuals to engage in volunteering.
Cost of contribution: Forgone opportunity to free ride
A significant cost of volunteering is the forgone benefit of free riding and those with a stronger free-riding tendency will perceive the forgone benefit more strongly. Free riding is of central concern in volunteering, because volunteering involves the production of a collective good, where the benefits are not confined to those who actually incur the cost. The volunteer's dilemma describes the situation in which each of the potential volunteers faces the decision of either making a small sacrifice from which all will benefit, or free riding. There is generally greater incentive to free ride than to produce the collective good and incur the cost of volunteering.
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Source of article : Wikipedia
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