The impact of austerity on the London 2012 Summer Olympics participation legacy from a grassroots sports club perspective: an institutional logics approach

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of austerity on the London 2012 Summer Olympics participation legacy from a grassroots sports club perspective, utilising institutional theory. The study adopted a mixed methods approach including semi-structured interviews with 11 stakeholders involved in grassroots sport alongside a review of key policy documentation (n = 8) and relevant literature. In keeping with the institutional logics perspective, these data were analysed in order to understand the impact of austerity on the sport participation legacy from the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The main findings of this study evidence mechanisms by which austerity policies, such as cuts in welfare and local government funding, have impacted sports provision at the grassroots sports club level. A shift towards a market logic at the society level induced, through the theorisation of austerity and cuts in the resource environment, the development of institutional contradictions at the field level that in turn, impacted operations at the grassroots sports club level. This study demonstrates that there is a fundamental contradiction between austerity and securing participation objectives in relation to the hosting of mega-events such as the Olympic Games, as mechanisms that support this increase (sport participation programmes, funding, etc.) are often reduced or eliminated.