Community Sport Organizations Research Articles

Sport's social provisions

This paper explores the relationship between sport and social capital by reporting on research that examined the social provisions of individuals’ involvement in sport and non-sport community organisations. Data were collected on levels of involvement in community sport and other third sector organisations, selected demographic variables, and a measure of social support using the Social Provisions Scale (Cutrona, 1984, 1986; Cutrona & Russell, 1987). The findings support the contention that social support developed through involvement in sport organisations is stronger than that developed through involvement in non-sport community organisations, but reveal that differences in the type, tenure and intensity of involvement in sport organisations had no significant impact on the strength of support developed.

Understanding capacity through the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in nonprofit community sport organizations

Engaging in relationships with other organizations is one way for nonprofit community sport organizations (CSOs) to acquire needed resources, knowledge, and other social benefits while achieving important public purposes and building community cohesion. This study explored the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in CSOs through semi-structured interviews with presidents of these organizations (N=20). The findings revealed key relationship processes including trust, consistency, balance, and engagement as well as specific management skills. The findings also revealed that relationships impacted CSOs through enabling improvements to program/service quality and operations, and enhancing community presence. The study contributes to the interorganizational relationship literature and our understanding of how relationships advance organizational goals in this small nonprofit context.

Cultural diversity in community sport: An ethnographic inquiry of Somali Australians’ experiences

Sport organisations aim to grow the participation of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including newly arrived people from refugee backgrounds. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research conducted by the author at community sport organisations in the multicultural city of Melbourne, this paper examines the key factors that affect the sport participation experiences of Somali Australians. It is shown that interpersonal and structural barriers to sport participation predominate, and that the significance of these barriers varies according to age, gender and time in Australia. The paper concludes that in order to foster inclusive sporting environments in which people from refugee backgrounds can participate in a safe, comfortable and culturally appropriate way, refugee settlement needs to be understood as a two-way process of mutual accommodation requiring adaptation on the part of both the migrant and the host society.

Organizational Capacity and Anticipated Growth in Nonprofit Voluntary Community Sport Organizations

Using a multidimensional framework we investigated the critical elements of capacity in community sport organizations (CSOs) and their impact on anticipated change in participation levels in the ne...

Determinants of an Innovation Process: A Case Study of Technological Innovation in a Community Sport Organization

There has been little attention given to examining innovation under the conditions in which community sport organizations (CSO) operate. In this case study, the process under which one CSO undertook a technological innovation is explored. The purpose of this research was to classify the determinants that contributed to the innovation process, and identify at which particular stages of innovation those determinants were critical. Interviews and focus groups with key stakeholders were conducted during the innovation process. Observations were made at important points during the implementation of the innovation. Leadership commitment, pro-innovation characteristics, organizational capacity, simple organizational design, and involved and interested external parties were identified as determinants of this technological innovation. The findings illustrate multiple determinants of innovation at the managerial, organization, and environmental levels. Some of these span the entire innovation process, while others are critical only at particular stages.

Cash, Sinkholes and Sources. How are Community Sport and Recreation Organisations Funded and What are the Implications for Their Future Viability? Research Report 2: Football Clubs

Cash, Sinkholes and Sources. How are Community Sport and Recreation Organisations Funded and What are the Implications for Their Future Viability? Research Report 2: Football Clubs

Cash, Sinkholes and Sources. How are Community Sport and Recreation Organisations Funded and What are the Implications for Their Future Viability? Research Report 3: Financial Vulnerability Analysis

This research has produced a New Zealand model (tool) to help address a critical issue for sports clubs. We have produced an early warning system for clubs to know when they are getting into financial trouble, which should prompt them to plan to remain sustainable. In extending and adapting models derived for social services organisation in the US, this research found that financial vulnerability is a contested notion and, with few failed sports clubs to test, we set up proxies in order to define organisations as being financially vulnerable. The logistic regressions and further analysis reflects the uniqueness of amateur sports clubs. By developing the financial vulnerability models as risk indicators, the research offers a unique contribution and has the potential to be applied elsewhere. This study has found that an overseas study might be useful in golf clubs (being a balance-sheet model) and another in football clubs (being a revenue and expenditure model). We also developed a New Zealand model (tool) based on warning clubs against continuing losses (Model 3) and the Revenue Concentration literature. Model 3 was most likely to signal the probability of FV in both football and golf clubs. However, the explanatory variables were different between these sports. For these sports clubs to be sustainable financially: (i) they must ensure that members contribute appropriately to the club’s revenue base and that there is not undue reliance on grants and other external revenues; (ii) debt must be kept within manageable levels. It should not increase over time and net equity should not be allowed to decrease; and (iii) expenditure must be kept within the parameters of the club’s ability to pay. We recommend that, as part of their financial management, clubs monitor their performance against key indicators and derive strategies to manage their financial performance to ensure their longevity. This paper reports the result of analysis of the relationship between sports clubs’ funding and their financial vulnerability. It builds from a literature review. The analysis of the data collected from golf and football clubs in relation to our SPARC (the forerunner of Sport NZ) research project is presented in the main body of the report. This research was made possible through funding from Sport New Zealand, the cooperation of New Zealand Golf and New Zealand Football, the research participants, and our research assistant.

A Culture of Trust: Engaging Muslim Women in Community Sport Organizations

This article examines the impetus for, and process of, engaging Muslim women in community sport. The research focuses on how and why a community sport organization, located in a large Australian city, embraced cultural change and developed a more inclusive community sport environment through social capital facilitation. The operation of the three types of social capital (bonding, bridging and linking) is considered alongside social capital attributes (networks, trust, reciprocity, volunteering and community building). The theoretical framework employed is derived from Lin's framework of social capital. The research findings are analysed through an examination of the stages of investment, development, mobilization and reproduction of social capital. This research illustrates the potential for the development of trust, cooperation and community networks, leading to cultural awareness, and changes to the cultural profile and practices of community sport organizations.

Learning From the Experiences of Older Adult Volunteers in Sport: A Serious Leisure Perspective

A sample of older adult volunteers (N = 20, 65 years and older) in community sport organizations was interviewed in order to understand their experiences with volunteering. An interdisciplinary framework of serious leisure, older adult volunteering, and older adult leisure was used to interpret the findings. Volunteering in this context was found to be consistent with serious leisure based on characteristics such as substantial involvement, strong identification with the activity, and the need to persevere. Older adults viewed their experience as extremely positive, enabling them to make a meaningful contribution and to receive several benefits of participation. The most frequently noted negative experience was interpersonal relations, yet overall, this was not enough to drive participants away from this activity. Implications for enhancing older adult volunteering are discussed and avenues for future research are provided.

Cash, Sinkholes and Sources. How are Community Sport and Recreation Organisations Funded and What are the Implications for Their Future Viability? Research Report 1: Golf Clubs

Cash, Sinkholes and Sources. How are Community Sport and Recreation Organisations Funded and What are the Implications for Their Future Viability? Research Report 1: Golf Clubs

A Case Study of Organizational Capacity in Nonprofit Community Sport

As a pivotal part of the nonprofit and voluntary sector, community sport organizations provide opportunities for active participation, social engagement, and community cohesion. This study examined the nature and impact of organizational capacity in one nonprofit community sport club to identify factors that affect the ability of this organization to fulfill its mandate and provide sport opportunities in the community. Hall et al.’s (2003) multidimensional framework of human resources, financial, relationships/ networks, infrastructure and process, and planning and development capacity was used. The study incorporated interviews with board members and coaches as well as active-member researcher observations (Adler & Adler, 1987). Key strengths and challenges of each capacity dimension were uncovered, and connections among the dimensions were revealed. The relatively greater importance of human resources and planning and development capacity for goal achievement was identified. The findings support the use of a multidimensional approach for generating a comprehensive understanding of organizational capacity in community sport, and for identifying where and how capacity may be enhanced.

Engaging community sport and recreation organisations in population health interventions: Factors affecting the formation, implementation, and institutionalisation of partnerships efforts

Sport and recreation organisations can play a key role in the development of physical activity strategies in health promotion. There is a paucity of research that has examined the engagement of a wide range of sport and recreation organisations in partnership approaches that promote active lifestyles. This research used a multiple‐case study protocol to explore partnership development between a range of professional (e.g., paid recreation staff) and volunteer organisations (e.g., club‐based sport). A total of 22 partnership members were interviewed from eight sport and recreation partnership programs funded by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth) in Australia. Content analysis was used to analyse the interviews with reference to a public health partnership framework. In partnership formation, results showed that representatives from professional organisations shared interests in health promotion goals, while volunteer organisations focused on increases in club membership; professionals lacked organisational capacity in terms of leadership and skills while volunteers lacked human resource capacity. Engaging the sport and recreation sector in partnerships that aim to promote active lifestyles requires long‐term commitment from funding agencies and partnering organisations. The design of pragmatic programs that build on the core business of each participating organisation, irrespective of whether they share a common mission, is important.

Resources at the Grassroots of Recreation: Organizational Capacity and Quality of Experience in a Community Sport Organization

Grassroots recreation organizations are volunteer-run informal organizations that deliver sport and recreation at the local level. Using a qualitative case study approach, this study examined how the quality of experience in one community sport organization was affected by organizational capacity, or the ability of the organization to mobilize financial, human, and structural capital to fulfill its mission. While the volunteers mobilized social capital, the league experienced significant shortages of human capital including the professional competencies to meet increasingly complex administrative demands. This finding raises concerns about potential disenfranchisement of volunteers.

Volunteer retention in community sport organisations

An important factor in the operation of community sport organisations is the retention of volunteers. The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain trends in volunteer participation and retention using continuity theory (Atchley, 1989, 1999). Within the context of government policies aimed at increasing participation in community sport, a secondary analysis of a data series from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2002) is used to illustrate recent volunteer and player participation trends in sport. This paper argues that government policies aimed at increasing participation in organised sport may not be achievable given apparent decreases in the volunteer work capacity of the community sport system. Problems such as the uneven distribution of volunteer work in sport and the relatively small and decreasing proportions of people volunteering in specific roles in sport are discussed. Based on continuity theory (Atchley, 1989, 1999), this paper develops a ‘transition‐extension’ hypothesis that aims to explain the recruitment and retention of players and ex‐players as volunteers in community sport organisations. It concludes by outlining some directions for further research.

Changing Hierarchies of Power in Physical Education Using Sport Education

PE in its traditional form involves teaching sport in a way that is mismatched with community sport. Children moving into community sport are not necessarily well placed to fit into this environment following PE experiences. Sport education (SE), developed by Siedentop, illustrates sport as seen and played in organized community sport. The purpose of this article is to see whether SE can successfully change the hierarchy of power in PE to provide a more authentic experience. SE was introduced to two badminton groups ( n=24 per group), aged 14–15, over 10 weeks with two one-hour sessions per week. Observations of lessons were made alongside individual and group interviews. Benefits and difficulties experienced from changes in power hierarchies are discussed. Recommendations are given to improve changes of power in PE, particularly for those new to teaching this model.

Diversity Management in a Multi-cultural Society: An Exploratory Study of Cultural Diversity and Team Sport in Australia

A decade of research has indicated that organisations can obtain a significant competitive advantage through the effective management of cultural diversity. This research has fostered the growth of diversity management initiatives across wide range of organizations seeking better business outcomes. However, empirical studies suggest that sports organizations have been slow to embrace diversity management, despite its proven benefits. While sports organisations have established policies to meet equity considerations, the impact of these has been relatively minor. Focussing on one aspect of diversity management, namely cultural diversity, a national survey of team-based community sport organisations was undertaken to investigate the extent to which diversity management was valued and practised at the grassroots level of sport organisations. Data were collected on cultural diversity policies, strategies and practices. Soccer organisations reported the highest levels of cultural diversity representation among players, board members and volunteers, while the lowest levels were reported by netball among participants and softball amongst Board members and volunteers. Softball organisations were therefore the least likely to have cultural diversity policies while basketball organisations reported the highest levels of policy development. In regard to engagement in diversity management practices Australian Rules organisations indicated the highest level and netball the lowest. Recognition of the value of cultural diversity was highest volleyball organisations and cricket indicated the highest commitment to being open and friendly to culturally diverse groups. This research has implications for how diversity can be managed more effectively by sport organisations.

Changing levels of organizational commitment amongst sport volunteers: A serious leisure approach

Taking a serious leisure approach, a sample of volunteer administrators in community sport organizations were surveyed about their level of organizational commitment and their reasons for initially volunteering and continuing to volunteer. The aim was to explore the dynamics of changing levels of commitment in relation to initially volunteering and continuing to volunteer. Based on their reasons for volunteering, the respondents were categorized as either marginal or career volunteers on two separate occasions. For many respondents, their reasons for volunteering changed from when they initially volunteered to the reasons they had for continuing. Levels of organizational commitment also changed over time and declined for both marginal and career volunteers, but the results suggested that career volunteers are more highly committed than their marginal counterparts. It was concluded that, from time to time, volunteers may re‐evaluate their reasons for volunteering and that as their reasons for volunteering change, so does their level of organizational commitment. Though less committed than career volunteers, marginal volunteers who continued to volunteer held a positive attitude toward their community sport organization.

Organisational Commitment as a Predictor of Committee Member Turnover among Volunteer Sport Administrators: Results of a Time-Lagged Study

Many sport organisations that rely on the services of volunteers experience difficulties in the retention of their volunteer labour force. Organisational commitment has been demonstrated to be a significant predictor of task performance, absenteeism and turnover among employees in work organisations. Using a time-lagged research design, the purpose of this study was to examine the temporal influence of organisational commitment and perceived committee functioning in predicting committee member turnover behaviour among volunteers in community sport organisations. Data from a one-year, three-wave longitudinal study of volunteer administrators (N = 262) were used in a discriminant function analysis. It was found that organisational commitment and perceptions about committee functioning measured closest to the time that turnover occurred, were significant but not strong predictors of whether a volunteer stayed with or left the committee of their organisation. It was concluded that organisational commitment was a stronger predictor of turnover than perceived committee functioning, particularly when measured at a point closer to when the turnover occurred, and that organisational commitment may moderate the influence of perceived committee functioning on volunteer turnover behaviour.