Sport-for-All policies in sport federations: an institutional theory perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Research questions Sport-for-All encompasses efforts to make organised sport accessible for all people. Although Sport-for-All is integrated in sport federations’ missions, many organisations struggle to attain their Sport-for-All goals. In particular, the Sport-for-All logic of sport federations is challenged by several institutional trends. By applying an institutional theory perspective, our study explores to what extent and how sport federations respond to the trends challenging their Sport-for-All logic. Research methods To measure the response of sport federations, a newly developed questionnaire, based on the model of Greenwood et al. (2002). [Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 58–80.], was sent to all recognised Flemish sport federations (n = 70). In total, 53 sport federations participated in our study. Results and findings Our results revealed that 53% of the federations reported a high degree of response to the trends. Furthermore, a cluster analysis based on a quantitative application of Greenwood et al.’s (2002). [Theorizing change: The role of professional associations in the transformation of institutionalized fields. Academy of Management Journal, 45(1), 58–80.] institutional model distinguished five clusters of federations. These clusters indicated differences in the response towards the trends of Sport-for-All. In particular, our study demonstrated that not only institutional pressure but also the preinstitutionalisation and theorisation stages are important stages to trigger the sport federations’ response. Implications Insights are provided into sport federations’ responses to the institutional trends of Sport-for-All informs sport federations and sport managers on how to adapt to the changing Sport-for-All landscape.