The concept of flexibility has received widespread attention beyond its theoretical 
roots in manufacturing. It has been applied to the services sector, including tourism 
and hospitality; however, little work has investigated the transference of its basic 
tenets to volunteering. Research is lagging behind practice in contemporary 
volunteering as the value of flexible attitudes and flexible work options in terms of 
recruitment and retention outcomes is increasingly recognised. To address this gap, the 
current paper proposes a conceptual model that takes into account levels of reciprocal 
flexibility between host organisations and their volunteers, against the backdrop of 
volunteer supply. A comprehensive explanation of the literature supporting this model 
and its accompanying research questions serve as a way forward to determine whether 
all types of tourism organisations, offering a range of volunteering opportunities, need 
to be flexible in order to recruit and retain volunteers