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Article

Environmental Volunteering Projects Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Volunteers’ Perspective on the Knowledge and Skills Gained, Their Involvement in Community Life and the Role of Environmental Monitoring Sensors

by
Silvia Puiu
1,* and
Mihaela Tinca Udriștioiu
2
1
Department of Management, Marketing and Business Administration, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
2
Department of Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Craiova, 200585 Craiova, Romania
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11139; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411139
Submission received: 23 June 2023 / Revised: 14 July 2023 / Accepted: 15 July 2023 / Published: 17 July 2023
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Abstract

:
The present study focuses on better understanding the benefits of environmental volunteering projects for volunteers and how the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they gain impact their future involvement in community life and in raising awareness towards environmental issues. Considering the recent technological developments and the applicability of sensors to monitor environmental quality, we also researched the impact of volunteering projects on the perception of volunteers regarding the role played by these sensors in providing valuable data, as well as to influence public decisions to have a healthier environment. The research methodology is based on the partial least squares structural equation modelling, the data being collected with a survey. The findings show a direct and positive influence on the skills gained by volunteers and their involvement in the community, as well as on their perception regarding the use of sensors to contribute to a cleaner environment. The results are useful to managers in schools, NGOs, public authorities, and businesses, who can collaborate to develop joint volunteering projects to tackle climate change and the pollution problem in the community.

1. Introduction

Environmental volunteering projects can be developed by NGOs in partnership with businesses and educational institutions. The positive results are not only for the environment, but also for the community, the volunteers, and the businesses, which all benefit from these initiatives meant to protect the environment (air, water, land, life). Many outcomes and progress in the direction of protecting the environment would not be possible without the help of volunteers [1]. Mazanec [2] highlights the importance of volunteering among the employees of a company, which improves their skills and connects colleagues, and, thus, they will work better in a team. The author appreciates that “the main benefits of volunteering include gaining a good feeling from the help provided and increasing self-confidence in professional life”.
The numerous benefits of environmental projects are also emphasised by Patrick et al. [3], who mention the personal skills gained by volunteers and the benefits for the planet and the health of all people. Considering these aspects, it is a great opportunity for companies to initiate such corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects meant to solve some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the 2030 Agenda [4], such as those related to climate change (SDG 13), clean water (SDG6), clean energy (SDG7), sustainable communities (SDG 11), and responsible consumption and production (SDG12), and those regarding life below water (SDG 14) or life on land (SDG 15). These projects can be launched independently or in partnership with NGOs, educational institutions, and public authorities.
As O’Brien et al. [5] mention, “volunteering in nature is a way of enabling people to reintegrate into society”, which proves useful for the entire community and the good relations between people in a society. Pillemer et al. [6] studied the effect of environmental volunteering on the health of volunteers in the long term, and their findings show a positive correlation, people engaged in these activities being more active and healthier later in life. These results show the importance of environmental projects for the health budget, contributing in a way to a reduction of the burden associated with illness in older people or people with a not-so-healthy lifestyle.
The present paper focuses on the impact that the many benefits brought by volunteering in environmental projects can have on future engagement in the community and also on understanding the role of sensors in monitoring the quality of the environment and their potential to influence authorities to solve existing problems. We started our research considering our experience with environmental education and the volunteering projects developed by higher education institutions in partnership with multinational companies. These projects can help volunteers gain knowledge, skills, and attitudes that are so helpful in their careers.
The study is comprised of several sections: after the introduction, there is a literature review section focused on presenting relevant papers regarding the same variables we focused on; next, we continue with presenting the research methodology and the hypotheses developed; the results section shows the main findings of our paper; the discussion follows, where we show for each hypothesis if it was validated and compare the results with other similar papers; and we end with the conclusions, in which we highlight the theoretical and practical implications of our research, the limitations, and the future research directions.
The novelty of our paper consists of the variables analysed together and the potential to contribute to better management of environmental projects. These can have an important impact on the community, not only for the health of the environment, but also for the health of all people. The results should stimulate managers in NGOs, companies, educational institutions, and public authorities at local, regional, and national levels to create partnerships meant to increase the interest in volunteering in general and for the environment in particular, considering the need to urgently tackle the climate change problem.

2. Literature Review

As we previously mentioned, the variables we focus on in this research paper are the following: the individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects; the involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues; and the volunteers’ perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors. These variables will be further discussed, taking into account the most relevant and recent papers in the literature review on the topic.

2.1. The Individual Knowledge, Skills, Traits, and Attitudes Gained by Volunteers in Environmental Volunteering Projects

Under this variable, we grouped the knowledge and the skills related to sensors, pollutants, the limits of pollutants, and their impact on health; technical skills; writing skills; gratitude and fulfilment feelings; positive and solution-oriented thinking; critical thinking; and the capacity to be flexible and adjust accordingly. The decision to group knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes under the same variable was based on the research on the competencies looked up by people working in HR [7,8,9,10]. We do not treat them separately because we want to better understand the benefits gained by volunteers, which might help them in finding a better job. They are treated by HR in combination, and we kept this perspective, this being only the first aspect we study in our research. The knowledge refers to the information acquired by volunteers and the skills for what they can do practically, and the attitudes refer to ‘’a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor’’ [11] (p. 1).
Khasanzyanova [12] highlights the educational component of volunteering projects and their role in developing the “soft skills”, which are “personal and interpersonal skills” that people do not usually develop in formal education. Considering this aspect, youngsters need to understand from an early age the importance of volunteering and for formal education to encourage children to develop this part of their life.
Kamerāde and Paine [13] consider that volunteers who gain the “skills, knowledge and attitudes” during volunteering projects increase their capacity to find a job because many of these skills are transferable, meaning that they can be used in contexts other than the original one. Dempsey-Brench and Shantz [14] conducted research emphasising the importance of these skills from the perspective of human resources (HR) departments in organisations, which should take them into account.
Cho et al. [15] analysed the role played by managers who coordinate the volunteers’ activity in NGOs on the “intention to continue volunteering” and their satisfaction, which also impacts the desire to volunteer. This shows that volunteering can be a solution to many problems and volunteers are a great asset, but managers and HR should be better prepared to interact with them in ways meant to use their skills and values for the greater good of the community. Adha et al. [16] analysed the benefits of volunteering for the young generation, mentioning their “engagement with information technology, which can be used to strengthen social integration, active participation, and responsibility”. Southby et al. [17] also notice the obstacles to volunteering for disadvantaged categories, which might create inequalities among people. The problem is not with volunteering; the authors consider that the benefits of volunteering should be available to everyone who wants to become a volunteer for a cause they believe in.

2.2. The Involvement in Community Life and the General Level of Awareness towards Environmental Issues

This variable refers not only to the long-term involvement of volunteers, who might create a habit of helping and dedicate their time and effort to the community they live in, but also to their important contribution to raising the level of knowledge and awareness about climate change and other environmental issues deriving from it. We appreciate that this variable is important, being a predictor of how societies evolve in the context of the current emergency posed by climate change. Each individual is responsible for his actions, and this variable focuses on how volunteering projects can lead to a higher level of awareness and a higher degree of involvement. Community involvement or “community service” [18,19] brings benefits not only for the community in general, but also for volunteers engaged in the act of giving, which represents one of the factors determining whether volunteers adopt these behaviours. It cannot be argued that volunteers help the community. Still, this variable refers to a continuous involvement in community life, even after the termination of a volunteering contract between volunteers and NGOs.
As Measham and Barnett [20] state, it is important “to sustain volunteer commitments to environmental management in the long term” and keep them motivated. And, for this to happen, good management is essential to show volunteers the benefits of their work not only for the present generation, but more importantly, for future generations. Stukas et al. [18] mention the term “sense of community”, which has to be developed to generate sustained involvement in the community in the long term. Environmental volunteering projects, if well managed, can create and instil these values in volunteers. Measham and Barnett [20] highlight the raised “awareness of environmental issues” among volunteers, who can share the knowledge with others in their circles of friends and families. Bruyere and Rappe [21] also see volunteering commitment from a managerial perspective, which has to consider the motivations behind the volunteers’ behaviours. NGOs focused on environmental health can achieve their goals if they succeed in developing volunteers who act not only for a limited time for the benefit of the community, but who change their behaviour and mentality towards protecting the environment in the long term. Among the motivations identified by the authors in their study [21], there is “socializing with people with similar interests”, which is important for community involvement on a continuous basis. Seymour and Haklay [22] researched volunteers in the UK and identified three categories of volunteers from the engagement perspective: “one-session” (being the highest group), “short-term”, and “long-term”. Environmental NGOs can better develop strategies to raise the number of volunteers engaged “long-term” in the community.

2.3. The Volunteers’ Perception Regarding the Role of Environmental Monitoring Sensors

This variable refers to the importance of sensors monitoring the quality of the environment (air, land, water) from the perspective of volunteers who might develop or at least promote these sensors in their community. We chose this variable because volunteers have an important role in developing sensor networks that can monitor the quality of the air [23], and this behaviour can be developed through environmental volunteering projects. Sensors are essential because they provide important data regarding environmental quality and can influence authorities to make changes in the community if there is enough public pressure.
Jahangir Ikram and Akram [24] highlight the importance of volunteers in “air pollution monitoring”, especially in countries where resources are limited, the government does not pay much attention to these issues, and the “awareness is minimal”. In these situations, volunteers’ role is tremendous, and they can contribute by gathering more data using dedicated sensors [23,24].
Gordienko et al. [25] include the involvement of volunteers in environmental monitoring sensors under the term “citizen science” and emphasise the difference between active and passive involvement. With the specialists’ help, volunteers can be more actively involved in “data collecting, processing, simulating and analysing” [25]. Sîrbu et al. [26] state the importance of volunteering for “international air quality monitoring”. For getting results at a great scale, the help offered by each volunteer is essential when we consider time and financial resources. The concept of “citizen science” is present in many works [27,28,29,30,31] that emphasise the need to have more engaged volunteers, who can help with monitoring the quality of the air we breathe.

3. Research Methodology and Hypotheses

We used the partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) and the software SmartPLS, version 4 [32], for the present study. The paper’s main objective was to identify the role of environmental volunteering projects in the personal development of volunteers and how these impact their perception regarding future involvement in community life and the role played by environmental monitoring sensors. Thus, we started with the following three hypotheses, which connect these variables:
Hypothesis 1 (H1):
The individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects have a direct and positive impact on the involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues.
Hypothesis 2 (H2):
The individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects have a direct and positive impact on their perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors.
Hypothesis 3 (H3):
The involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues have a direct and positive impact on the volunteers’ perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors.
For testing the hypotheses, we proposed the research model in Figure 1, which includes the three variables, each of them with its items: the individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects (comprising ten items); the involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues (comprising two items); and the volunteers’ perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors (comprising four items).
Table 1 includes a description of the variables in the model, their items, and the codes we introduced in the model.
To collect the data and be able to use PLS-SEM, we sent a survey in March and April 2023 to 850 Facebook users in Romania. We obtained 183 valid questionnaires from those who were involved as volunteers in environmental projects in the community. We chose this method of collecting data because volunteers in environmental projects are usually youngsters enrolled at a higher education institution. In Romania, Facebook is one of the most used social media platforms. Also, the bias was eliminated because we disseminated the survey to Facebook groups where there are users from the entire country and with different interests. Another reason for using Facebook is that most higher education institutions in Romania had online courses in winter and early spring to achieve energy savings. The profile of the respondents revealed that most of them live in urban areas (74.7%); are between 46 and 60 years old (31.7%), closely followed by those between 18 and 25 years old (29%); and have university studies (72.1%). The survey was made in Google Forms and did not include personal data, being completely anonymous. To apply PLS-SEM, we used the Likert scale (from 1 to 5, where 1 was total disagreement and 5 was total agreement) for most statements, except for the socio-demographic ones. The sample size in our study follows the requirements of the method, which analyses the relationship between variables in SmartPLS. According to the “10 times rule” [33], the minimum sample size is 30.

4. Results

In Table 2, we determined the outer loadings and variance inflation factor (VIF) for all the items in the model proposed in Figure 1. The two indicators reflect the convergent validity of the items used in the model. For the items to be considered reliable, the outer loadings should be higher than 0.7 [34,35]. We notice from Table 2 that all items have outer loadings that are above 0.7. All VIF values are below 4, which shows the collinearity of the model, and, as Hair et al. [36] mention, the VIF values that represent a collinearity problem are above 5.
The model in Figure 2 includes the outer loadings for each item because they are relevant to the constructs we introduced in the model. We notice that the impact of IKTA on COM is the highest (0.849), followed by the impact of COM on SNSR (0.490) and the impact of IKTA on SNSR (0.403). IKTA and COM contribute to 73.7% of the SNSR variance and IKTA to 73% of the COM variance.
The constructs’ reliability and validity are shown in Table 3, where all three constructs register values above the minimum thresholds [36,37] required to be considered valid (the higher the values, the higher the reliability is). Cronbach’s alpha is above 0.7, the composite reliability is above 0.7, and the average variance extracted is above 0.6.
For the discriminant validity of the model, we applied the Fornell–Larcker criterion, which shows on the main diagonal in Table 4 that the square roots of the AVE values for a construct are higher in relation to itself than in comparison with the other constructs, which ensures the fact that the constructs are different enough between them to make the model valid.
The indicator for the model fit is the Standardised Root-Mean-Square Residual (SRMR), which for our model is 0.059, a value under the required threshold of 0.08 [38]. In Table 5, we have the results of the bootstrapping test that we applied in SmartPLS, which checks the significance of the research model.
We notice from Table 5 that t values are above 1.96 and p values are below 0.05, and neither of the confidence intervals bias-corrected include the zero value, which shows that all three hypotheses are validated. Cross-validated redundancy checks the predictive relevance of the model by applying the blindfolding test in Table 6. All three values for Q2 are above zero, which ensures the high predictive relevance of the proposed model.
In Table 7, we include the descriptive statistics for the items in the model. We notice the high values for the mean (above 4), corresponding to agreement on the 5-point Likert scale. This shows that volunteers perceive environmental projects as having important benefits that can help them to have a higher level of involvement in community life and a good perception of the usefulness of environmental monitoring sensors for everyone.

5. Discussion

In this section, we will discuss the results reached by other authors on the same topic or a similar one and highlight the implications of our results.
H1: The individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects have a direct and positive impact on the involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues. This hypothesis was validated (t = 18.452 and p = 0), which shows that volunteers perceive the benefits they gain from volunteering projects focused on protecting the environment and appreciate them as having an important impact on their involvement in the community, but also the general level of education and awareness in the society on the topic of environment, pollution, climate change, and so on.
Wright et al. [39] mention that environmental volunteers “act as advocates for the program” in which they are involved, suggesting that they are becoming proactive and more involved in the community and also in their intentions to raise the level of knowledge and awareness among other people that are not volunteers. Perry and Katula [40] analysed the relationship between “service” (with the meaning of volunteering) and “citizenship” and concluded that there is a positive relation between these two variables. The authors highlight that service leads to “later giving”, which means that volunteers get accustomed to being better citizens for prolonged periods, thus becoming a model for younger generations. Gulliver et al. [41] state that volunteers exhibit “increased participation behaviours” and highlight their role in managing the present “environmental crisis”, also mentioning the leadership abilities they gain and which increase the chances to be more proactive in the future. Similar research was conducted by Seymour et al. [42], whose results show a positive relationship between volunteering and behavioural changes regarding the attitude toward the environment, which is an important aspect of community life and also a predictor of a higher level of awareness in the community.
H2: The individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects have a direct and positive impact on their perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors. This hypothesis was validated (t = 16.203 and p = 0), which shows that volunteers in these projects understand the important role played by sensors monitoring the quality of the environment we all live in. This happens because volunteers gain more knowledge on environmental issues, are more informed, develop critical thinking and, thus, better understand the sensors’ usefulness. This hypothesis is important because it can lead to citizen initiatives and the development of new sensors in local communities that are not otherwise covered.
Similar findings in the literature show the connection between volunteering and sensors. Thus, Catlin-Groves [27] highlights the promising future of “citizen science”, in which citizens contribute to research by providing data in various domains. Goodchild [28] uses the comparison “citizens as sensors”, stating that volunteers provide data that can help the community, which connects hypotheses H1 and H2. Other authors show the engagement of volunteers who understand the role of sensors and the need for more data, mentioning portable sensors volunteers can use [26,29,30,43,44,45]. Elen et al. [44] present a bicycle that can be used by volunteers to monitor air quality. We could not find the same hypothesis as ours tested in the literature. Still, numerous authors researched the role of volunteers in the community by using portable sensors, which shows not only an increased interest among volunteers, but also a recognition of the role played by these sensors and the value of the data provided for the future of a healthier community.
H3: The involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues have a direct and positive impact on the volunteers’ perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors. This hypothesis was validated (t = 4.627 and p = 0), which indicates that people who are more involved in community life and more knowledgeable about environmental issues also appreciate the role of sensors in providing accurate data regarding environmental quality. Many authors are connecting the variables of community engagement and monitoring sensors [31,46,47,48]. Mahajan et al. [31] appreciate that community engagement concerning monitoring sensors strengthens the relationship between communities and researchers, with citizens perceiving the research as more useful when involved in the process. This correlation is also linked with the one expressed by the H2 hypothesis. Hubbell et al. [48] state that sensors are used by communities in many ways, which enriches the data available, and also that sensors help communities to develop a relationship with the managers in the public administration responsible for the air quality.

6. Conclusions

The present study is focused on analysing the impact of volunteering in environmental projects on the involvement in community life in the long term and also on the role of monitoring sensors to provide data, to offer a way to compare official data, and to determine authorities to take some corrective measures. Our findings show that the knowledge, skills, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental projects have an important impact on their involvement in community life and their perception regarding the importance of sensors in monitoring air quality. Our contribution is important considering the role played by environmental education in raising awareness towards problems like climate change.

6.1. Theoretical and Practical Implications

The study reveals the volunteers’ perspective and is useful not only for the ones that manage volunteering projects, but also for managers in public administration, who should better understand the needs of their citizens and their expectations to live in a healthier and cleaner world. From a theoretical point of view, the results of our research could be a starting point for other researchers. From a practical point of view, the implications are important because the findings offer data for public managers, NGO managers coordinating volunteers on environmental issues, and managers in the private sector who might develop partnerships with the public authorities (including universities and other educational institutions) and NGOs to initiate corporate social responsibility projects in the community on the topic of climate change and environmental protection and monitoring.
Businesses interested in creating monitoring sensors will understand how citizen engagement can be used for developing important sensor networks and what motivates citizens to be volunteers. As mentioned, businesses can initiate partnerships with schools and NGOs to create a community of engaged citizens, willing to volunteer for a cleaner environment. As our results indicate, the greatest impact (0.849) is from the skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers to the involvement in community life and the contribution to a higher level of awareness on environmental issues.

6.2. Limitations of the Research and Future Research Directions

The limitations of our research are related to the online format of the survey. We used an online questionnaire because a face-to-face version would have limited us geographically. In this way, we could target volunteers in different regions of the country. One of the limitations is related to the use of Facebook for disseminating the questionnaire, which in Romania is a preferred social media channel, especially among youngsters who are usually involved in volunteering projects. We reduced the bias and tried to raise the reliability of our data by sending the survey to many Facebook groups targeting respondents with different backgrounds. We do not know which Facebook users responded, and we did not collect any personal data. Still, it is possible that some categories of respondents were not able to fill out our survey, especially people in rural regions or elders for whom online connectivity might be a problem. As future research directions, we consider introducing new variables important. Among these, we can mention variables such as the interest in entrepreneurship among volunteers in environmental projects or the pollution level of the region. The first variable might show that volunteers interested in business are more prone to engage in activities related to developing sensor networks. The second one can influence how a region’s citizens perceive environmental issues. If the region has an increased level of pollution, citizens might be more interested in volunteering on related projects and getting involved in the community or helping with the development of sensors.

Author Contributions

Conceptualisation, S.P. and M.T.U.; methodology, S.P.; validation, S.P.; formal analysis, M.T.U.; investigation, S.P.; writing—original draft preparation, S.P. and M.T.U.; writing—review and editing, S.P. and M.T.U.; visualisation, S.P.; supervision, M.T.U.; project administration, S.P. and M.T.U. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Upon written request.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Figure 1. The research model proposed and created by the authors with SmartPLS, version 4.
Figure 1. The research model proposed and created by the authors with SmartPLS, version 4.
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Figure 2. PLS algorithm determined by the authors with SmartPLS, version 4.
Figure 2. PLS algorithm determined by the authors with SmartPLS, version 4.
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Table
Table 1. The model’s constructs, items and codes.
Table 1. The model’s constructs, items and codes.
ConstructsItemsCodes
The individual knowledge, skills, traits, and attitudes gained by volunteers in environmental volunteering projects (IKTA)Environmental volunteering projects develop the interest of younger generations in protecting the environment. IKTA1
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects learn to be grateful for what they have and for the experiences they have in life. IKTA2
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects are feeling fulfilled by their involvement. IKTA3
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects develop a positive approach towards the problems and try to find solutions.IKTA4
Environmental volunteering projects develop the volunteers’ critical thinking. IKTA5
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects are becoming more flexible, being able to adjust easily to various situations. IKTA6
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects gain knowledge regarding the way environmental sensors are developed and programmed and how they transmit data. IKTA7
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects gather knowledge and acquire technical skills, which help them use databases and smart technologies. IKTA8
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects acquire new information about the air quality index (AQI), the acceptable limits of pollutants, and what they can do when AQI is high. IKTA9
Volunteers in environmental volunteering projects also learn about writing a project alongside the team that coordinates the activities. IKTA10
The involvement in community life and the general level of awareness towards environmental issues (COM)The level of involvement in community life is higher in communities where environmental volunteering projects are developed. COM1
The level of knowledge and awareness towards environmental problems is improved in communities where environmental volunteering projects are developed. COM2
The volunteers’ perception regarding the role of environmental monitoring sensors (SNSR)Environmental monitoring sensors are useful for everyone because they provide information regarding the environment in which we all live. SNSR1
Environmental monitoring sensors offer information in addition to the ones provided by authorities, a good way to compare the data. SNSR2
Environmental monitoring sensors determine whether authorities take adequate measures to solve the community’s environmental problems.SNSR3
Environmental monitoring sensors offer valuable information about pollution episodes, the sources, and the way pollution spreads. SNSR4
Table
Table 2. The outer loadings and VIF values for the model’s items.
Table 2. The outer loadings and VIF values for the model’s items.
ItemsOuter LoadingsVIF
IKTA10.8222.856
IKTA20.8213.096
IKTA30.8243.200
IKTA40.8213.072
IKTA50.8503.137
IKTA60.8483.514
IKTA70.7702.195
IKTA80.8493.322
IKTA90.8763.920
IKTA100.7842.329
COM10.9071.726
COM20.9091.726
SNSR10.9183.684
SNSR20.8982.996
SNSR30.8882.957
SNSR40.8872.692
Table
Table 3. Constructs’ reliability and validity.
Table 3. Constructs’ reliability and validity.
ConstructsCronbach’s AlphaComposite Reliability (rho_a)Composite Reliability (rho_c)Average Variance Extracted (AVE)
COM0.7870.7870.9040.824
IKTA0.9480.9500.9560.684
SNSR0.9200.9210.9430.807
Table
Table 4. Fornell–Larcker criterion applied to the model.
Table 4. Fornell–Larcker criterion applied to the model.
Constructs of the ModelCOMIKTASNSR
COM0.908
IKTA0.8490.827
SNSR0.8320.8190.898
Table
Table 5. The bootstrapping test for the model proposed and hypotheses validation.
Table 5. The bootstrapping test for the model proposed and hypotheses validation.
ConstructsT Statisticsp ValuesConfidence Intervals Bias CorrectedHypotheses Validation
IKTA -> COM18.4520.000(0.727, 0.910)H1 validated
IKTA -> SNSR16.2030.000(0.685, 0.888)H2 validated
COM -> SNSR4.6270.000(0.278, 0.685)H3 validated
Table
Table 6. Cross-validated redundancy of the model’s constructs.
Table 6. Cross-validated redundancy of the model’s constructs.
SSOSSEQ2 (=1 − SSE/SSO)
COM366.000162.1290.557
IKTA1830.0001830.0000.000
SNSR732.000318.7440.565
Table
Table 7. The mean and standard deviation for the items in the model; Descriptive Statistics.
Table 7. The mean and standard deviation for the items in the model; Descriptive Statistics.
ItemsMeanStandard Deviation
IKTA14.710.77
IKTA24.550.82
IKTA34.480.86
IKTA44.530.82
IKTA54.530.83
IKTA64.580.78
IKTA74.580.76
IKTA84.610.77
IKTA94.550.85
IKTA104.420.88
COM14.640.78
COM24.560.88
SNSR14.600.79
SNSR24.530.87
SNSR34.360.94
SNSR44.560.79
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Puiu, S.; Udriștioiu, M.T. Environmental Volunteering Projects Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Volunteers’ Perspective on the Knowledge and Skills Gained, Their Involvement in Community Life and the Role of Environmental Monitoring Sensors. Sustainability 2023, 15, 11139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411139

AMA Style

Puiu S, Udriștioiu MT. Environmental Volunteering Projects Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Volunteers’ Perspective on the Knowledge and Skills Gained, Their Involvement in Community Life and the Role of Environmental Monitoring Sensors. Sustainability. 2023; 15(14):11139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411139

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Puiu, Silvia, and Mihaela Tinca Udriștioiu. 2023. "Environmental Volunteering Projects Management: A Multivariate Analysis of Volunteers’ Perspective on the Knowledge and Skills Gained, Their Involvement in Community Life and the Role of Environmental Monitoring Sensors" Sustainability 15, no. 14: 11139. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411139

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