Older people's perception of volunteering from the perspective of social marketing and happiness

Volunteering is a crucial activity for older adults, as it allows them to stay connected to society, form social bonds, overcome adverse events, and be happier. The Aula de Mayores (Senior Citizens' Classroom) (AUM) at the University of Cadiz offers university training for people aged 55 and over, promoting culture and the development of curiosity, social participation, and happiness. Social marketing supported by theories such as Planned Behavior and the MOAB (Motivation–Opportunity–Ability–Behavior) modelform a valuable framework for understanding and predicting the participation of older people in volunteering. In this context, the main objective of this work is to study older people's perception of participation in volunteering activities from the perspective of social marketing based on these theories. The methodology used in this research presents both a qualitative and quantitative approach. To this end, sixteen students from AUM who participated in volunteering activities were selected for interviewing. In the results of these interviews, a semantic network analysis was carried out based on word co-occurrences to identify the main opinions about their activities as volunteers and to examine the conversations around these topics. Next, the answers wereanalyzed in detail to check the perception of volunteering activities from the perspective of social marketing based on the 4Ps strategies with the support of the theory of planned behaviour and the MOAB model. Finally, a simple correspondence analysis analyzed the possible relationship between different areas of volunteering collaboration, happiness, and effort in collaborating in volunteering activities. From the perspective of social marketing, the principal results show that the main impediment to volunteering by older people is commitment, which can be influenced by doubts about the suitability of their work (perceived control). One of the main benefits is feeling useful in society and values, which can be motivated by the influence of friends and acquaintances who also volunteer (social norm). For many, helping is a way of life that brings them happiness and is linked to the field in which they collaborate. Finally, one of its main contributions is a more serene attitude and the ability to see the positive meaning of life and what matters. This work has allowed us to learn more about the factors that contribute to favourablebehaviour towards volunteering, which can help NGOs and universities design specific strategies to get older people to adopt a proactive attitude towards volunteering