Amateur structures and their effect on performance: the case of Greek voluntary sports clubs

Abstract

This study applies an organizational perspective to the measurement of the structure and context of voluntary local sports clubs in Greece. Local sport clubs have rarely been an area of inquiry in terms of their organizational structure and context. This research firstly focuses on collecting and analysing data referring to measurements of contextual (e.g., organizational size, age and resource dependence) and structural (e.g., formalization, specialization, centralization) variables. Secondly, it examines whether the local sports clubs' contextual and structural development has an effect on their performance. The theoretical background underlying this research endeavour is drawn from the classical Weberian theory of bureaucracy as presented by Frisby's conceptual framework in order to be applicable in voluntary leisure service organizations. Forty-one local sport clubs composed the sample of this study. A member of their board of directors was interviewed following a specifically designed, highly structured pre-existing schedule. The results support a trend towards a loosely structured, less bureaucratic organizational operation for the local sport clubs, which is accompanied with external resource dependence and moderate performance.