•We embark on theory development to explain notions of board strategic capability.•We identify the relationship between influencing factors.•We derived six distinct and central factors of board ...strategic capability.•We propose a theory of board strategic balance that explains these influences.•Notions of creating and maintaining equilibrium in roles/functions are highlighted.
Despite the important role governing boards play in organisational life our understanding of their strategic function is limited. This paper embarks on theory development to explain the notion of board strategic capability and to identify the factors and their relationships influencing strategic capability of sport boards. This little-used construct, we argue, can guide future governance research. In reflecting on the extant literature from the nonprofit, for-profit and sport governance domains, we derived six distinct and central factors of board strategic capability: increasing contribution of volunteer board members (‘will and skill’); board operational knowledge; board integrating regional entities into the governing role; board maintaining the monitoring and control function; board co-leading strategy development; and board co-leading integration of strategy into board processes. In considering the relationships between these six factors, we propose a theory of ‘board strategic balance’ that explains these influences in a holistic model. We conclude that the theory of board strategic capability is encapsulated by understanding how creating and maintaining equilibrium in these roles and functions is managed by sport boards.
Citation analysis is a powerful tool to better understand the intellectual foundations of a field and to identify those journals publishing the majority of important articles. The purpose of this ...study was to identify the most frequently cited sport management and non-sport management journals based on an analysis of the reference lists of manuscripts published in the
Journal of Sport Management,
Sport Marketing Quarterly,
European Sport Management Quarterly and
Sport Management Review. Results showed that the
Journal of Sport Management was the most cited journal followed by
Sport Marketing Quarterly. Three management journals, three marketing journals, two sport sociology journals and two psychology journals were identified as the most cited non-sport management journals. In-field citations to seven core sport management journals accounted for 16.4 percent of all citations, raising questions about the balance between citations within the field compared to those from outside the field. Focus of the sport management and marketing journals was also considered in relation to factors impacting on citation trends.
This study applies the competing values approach (CVA) of organizational effectiveness to a sample of nonprofit Australian national Olympic sporting organizations (NOSOs). The purpose of the study ...was to determine the psychometric properties of the subscales developed within each of the four quadrants composing the CVA. Two hundred eightynine constituents from 10 NOSOs participated in this study. Initial factor analysis resulted in six of the eight theoretically derived cells in the CVAeach yielding one reliable factor. These were Flexibility, Resources, Planning, Productivity, Availability of Information, and Stability. The other two cells, Skilled Workforce and Cohesive Workforce, each produced a two-factor structure. To understand the relationship between these manifest factors (cells) and organizational effectiveness, a confirmatory factor analysis was conducted, which revealed that the rational-goal model, comprising Productivity and Planning, was the critical determinant of effectiveness in NOSOs.
The purpose of this study was to analyse the composition of national sport federation (NSF) boards in Australia, India, South Africa, the UK and the USA. Specifically, this research assessed board ...size, occupational diversity and gender diversity, which are theorised to influence board performance.
This study employed a positivist descriptive research approach and gathered data from online secondary sources. In total, board composition data was collected on 253 NSFs across five countries, which equated to 2937 directors.
The results showed that the average board size in Indian NSFs (19.5 directors) is larger than in the sampled Western countries (on average between 7.2 and 14.2 directors). The occupational background of directors in Australia and the UK is similar, with a strong degree of business involvement (61% and 67%, respectively). Compared to Australia and the UK, India, South Africa and the USA have a larger proportion of directors from sporting backgrounds. Indian NSFs have a relatively significant number of politicians (16%) and few (7%) women on their boards compared to the Western countries.
This study provides empirical evidence to support sport governance policy processes.
This research contributes to the sport governance literature by showing the extent to which NSFs are adopting good governance standards.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to bridge the micro-macro divide by trying to integrate the micro-domain's focus on individuals (i.e. managers) with the meso-domain's and macro-domain's focus ...(i.e. leagues/football clubs and the socio-political environment, respectively). The examination takes place within the context of English football and in relation to the implementation of corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper draws on data collected by 21 charitable foundation managers of the top two divisions of English football. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim from digital voice recorders and were analysed using grounded theory coding techniques.
Findings
– The study found a paradoxical context in which foundation managers make strategic decisions in an endeavour to harmonise multiple environmental and institutional “recipes”. Managers are confident that they have the capability to do so, yet realise that this capability is the result of a heavy reliance on external and internal resources. These considerations come together to create the micro-context, here identified as a dysfunctional setting, in which managers are required to make the decisions that confirm their role as managers. Therefore, multiple, and often contradictory, theoretical perspectives are in play and explain the foundation managers’ role in the implementation process.
Originality/value
– The paper moves away from mono-theoretical approaches that have been mainly used for the examination of CSR in the sporting context, and by placing its focus on the individual level of analysis illustrates the complexity of the CSR implementation process.
This study explores the enablers and barriers present when attempting to adopt a collaborative governance system in a non-profit sport. An empirical qualitative study was employed to shed light on ...these enablers and barriers with a particular focus on the behaviours and actions of those charged to govern. Three sports from Australia took part in the study and 36 in-depth interviews were conducted with participants from national and state organizations operating within those networks. Data were analysed using a pattern matching process and a thematic structure was subsequently developed. The current state of collaborative behaviours and its impact for future collaboration, the institutional design of the federal model including board composition and leadership, and the ability of the strategic planning process to act as a catalyst to facilitate collaboration emerged as the key themes in the study. The results of this work advance our understanding of the enablers and barriers facing systemic governing structures and increase our ability to theorize in relation to collaborative sport governance. A number of implications for sport governance practice and possible extensions for sport governance research based on these findings conclude the paper.
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