Stakeholder inclusion in elite sport

Abstract

Although successful elite policy is the result of close interactions between stakeholders, stakeholder theoretical perspectives are rarely addressed in elite sport policy literature nor are stakeholders involved in the study methods. This book chapter uses data from the SPLISS (Sports Policy factors Leading to International Sporting Success) project across 15 countries, to: 1) identify the extent to which athletes and coaches are involved in the elite sport policy development and 2) if countries that do so also performed significantly better at the Olympic Games in London. The findings revealed limited involvement of athletes within their national governing bodies (NGBs) and at the national level both in the formation of elite sport policy (prior) and in the evaluation (after) of it. Interestingly, the results also showed that a higher level of perceived stakeholder inclusion by athletes and coaches was associated with higher elite sports success. The chapter therefore suggests an instrumental stakeholder approach applied to elite sports and the involvement of elite athletes and coaches as key strategies of an integrated approach to elite sport development.