International volunteer services : An explorative study on selection, training and success

Abstract

This thesis explores (1) the different components of success in international volunteer services and (2) the relevant parameters of selection and training to these specific success criteria. By applying the principles of the Grounded Theory Method to a total sample of 20 interviews from different non-profit organizations, the thesis provides a total of 18 hypotheses on selection, training and success of international volunteers. The structure of the analysis is as follows. In the second chapter the object of investigation, namely international volunteer services provided by charitable non-profit organizations is specified. Subsequently, important conceptual foundations, more precisely the structural framework of international volunteer services, as well as the volunteer coordination cycle, are explained. Chapter four provides a literature review on the topic that illustrates the research gap this analysis attends to. The fifth chapter displays the methodological approach to this analysis. Following this, the results of this study are presented and explained, both distinctly and in relation to each other. The seventh chapter serves to discuss the findings, while the eighth closes this analysis with a conclusion and advice for future research.