Voluntary Sports Clubs Research Articles

Which context matters? Analysing team and club contextual conditions of member commitment in voluntary sports clubs

AbstractVoluntary sports clubs (VSC) face the challenges of dropouts and unstable membership. Studies have analysed member commitment—that is, the decision to remain in a club—regarding individual member characteristics and structural club conditions. To date, studies have not considered the team context, even though most members participate in teams or training groups. To address this research gap, this study analysed the role of team and club contexts in VSC member commitment. This study applies an innovative three-level model to a sample of 1395 Swiss football club members selected from 138 teams across 42 clubs. This study highlights the relevance of the team context, where pronounced goals of sporting success are detrimental, and a culture of mutual respect benefits member commitment. Based on this study, the team context should be included in theoretical and empirical models of member action in sport clubs.

The Unsustainable Strategy of Voluntary Sports Clubs or an Opportunity for Rational Management of Sport Management?

The Unsustainable Strategy of Voluntary Sports Clubs or an Opportunity for Rational Management of Sport Management?

Developing a multi-level framework for analyzing public sports-based programmes to integrate migrants and refugees into organized sports

Voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) are viewed by governments as an important catalyst for the integration of migrants/refugees. However, research has shown that only a small number of VSCs are directly involved in ‘integration through sport’ practices. To increase the ­number of VSCs that are willing and able to significantly implement targeted integration measures, it is necessary to understand how ‘integration through sport policies’ can actually reach the local level and impact practices. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework that considers and bundles current integration research in organized sports. To address the complexity, a multi-level framework will be developed that helps to understand the roll-out strategies and implementation processes of integration programmes for migrants in organized sports. Additionally, it helps to support practitioners in developing appropriate evaluation schemes, or revising existing integration programmes at the local, regional or national level in order to increase the number of integrative VSCs.

To pay or not to pay? Parents’ view of the commercialisation process in children and youth sports

The commercialisation of children’s and youth sports has experienced a significant rise in recent decades. Currently, there is a lack of in-depth knowledge regarding the implications of this commercialisation for Swedish youth participating in sport as well as family members directly involved in the youth sport experience. As such, the purpose of this study was to investigate parents’ perceptions of commercialisation processes in children and youth sports in Sweden. In particular, we sought to examine why some parents are willing to pay for commercial alternatives and how the increased commercialisation of youth sport are associated with youth sport participation. We also sought to investigate parents’ views about the impact of commercialised alternatives on coaches and voluntary sports clubs, both now and in the future. A total of nine focus group interviews were conducted, including a total of 48 parents (22 men and 26 women) strategically chosen based on their children’s participation in different strands of commercialised sports businesses. The findings indicate that the excessive demands from voluntary sports clubs combined with the desire to be considered a good parent appear to influence parents’ willingness to pay for commercialised businesses.

O.3.3-10 The why and how of co-production between professionals and volunteers: a qualitative study of community-based healthcare in Denmark

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the present study was to explore co-production in practice by examining how public health service and voluntary sports clubs collaborate to support people with chronic illness to participate in physical activity in a Danish community setting. Specifically, our research asked the following questions: Which institutional logics guide the practice of co-production in municipalities and voluntary sports clubs? And how do the involved stakeholders co-produce community-based healthcare? The study adopted a critical perspective on the use of co-production to promote physical activity by linking public health service and voluntary sports clubs. Methods The study used a critical case study approach to examine the practice of co-production. The analysis was built on qualitative data from nine semi-structured interviews, two information interviews and project documents. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and coded drawing on the theory of institutional logics. Results The findings document how the interplay between professionals and volunteers has implications in their everyday practice and offer three central insights into the practice of co-production: Firstly, in the process of co-production the interplay between different and sometimes contradictory logics may lead to conflict, dilemmas, feelings of conflicting pressures and unfulfilled expectations amongst the involved stakeholders. Secondly, the study offers examples of how different logics can be combined and balanced. Here, the stakeholders especially draw on strategies based on the network logic, which facilitates mutual understanding and matching of expectations. Thirdly, the study highlights context-specific variation, where co-production emerged as highly contingent, reflecting the dynamic interaction between logics and the context-specific management by the involved professionals and the sports club volunteers. Conclusions This study makes an original contribution to the conceptual understanding of co-production in healthcare service, thus emphasising the benefit of paying attention to the network logic when building bridges between public healthcare service and voluntary sports clubs to promote physical activity – and to unite the seemingly contradictory “why” and “how” of co-production in practice. Support/Funding Source No funding to declare. Published in Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 2022, Vol. 43 No. 1/2, pp. 197-213. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-01-2022-0027

Gender stereotypes and their correlates: the moderating role of voluntary sports club membership.

This study examined the correlates of gender stereotypes and the moderating role of membership in a voluntary sports club. Drawing on the contact hypothesis, this study argues that gender stereotypes are lower when individuals regularly have the opportunity to meet and play sport with such people, for example in a voluntary sports club. Survey data from the European Values Study are used for the analysis (n = 36,185; 30 countries). Gender stereotypes are measured with statements on gender role attributes. Regression results show that membership in a voluntary sports club, being a student, income, and living in a more gender equal country significantly reduce gender stereotypes. On the contrary, male gender, living in a partnership, having children, lower and medium education, part-time employment, self-employment, unemployment, being a home maker, and living in a small town are correlates of higher gender stereotypes. Interacting the latter correlates with sports club membership support its moderating effect in the sense that most correlates turn insignificant or have smaller coefficients. The only variables retaining their coefficient size are self-employment and living in a small town. The findings support the contact hypothesis and suggest that sports clubs are places that lessen gender stereotypes.

Conformity to institutional logics and organizational strength of voluntary sport clubs

ABSTRACT Research question The aim of this study was to examine if and under what conditions voluntary sport clubs (VSCs) conformed to the institutional logics of professionalism, consumerism and instrumentalism and whether conformity to these logics increases the organizational strength and resources of VSCs. Research methods Cross-sectional (n = 549) and longitudinal (n = 158) panel data of Dutch VSCs between 2007 and 2021 were used. Paired samples t-tests show the extent of conformity. Logistic regressions indicate the relationship between three conformity measures (level of professionalism, consumerism and instrumentalism), institutional conditions and self-perceived organizational strength and resources. Results and Findings Results suggest that VSCs did not strongly conform to the three institutional logics between 2007 and 2021. Results do provide evidence for the relationship between institutional conditions (cooperation with other VSCs, size, experienced competition, degree of competitiveness, own facilities) and the likelihood of conformity. No relationship was found between conformity and self-perceived organizational strength and resources. Implications Results of this study indicate that conforming to collective beliefs about what constitutes desirable, proper, or appropriate behavior alone -as the neo-institutional view implies- is a limited view for explaining VSCs’ survivability. Furthermore results imply that change into the directions pursued by policy makers does not seem to improve the organizational strength of VSCs. More research is needed to investigate survival mechanisms based on other theoretical concepts in order to understand, monitor and improve the survivability of VSCs.

Categorisation of digitalisation practises in voluntary sports clubs

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study asks: (i) To what extent can VSCs be categorised in terms of their digitalisation application practices and usage perspectives, and (ii) how can the identified categories be described in terms of further organisational characteristics? Methodology: An online survey was conducted among VSCs in Austria and Germany. A hierarchical cluster analysis was carried out to create categories of digitalisation. N = 367 VSCs were included in the cluster analysis. Findings: Four categories of digitalisation were identified: “Doubters” (above-average use of digital tools, digitalisation is seen as comparatively risky), “Open Minds” (digitalisation is seen as an opportunity, high need for support), “Pessimists” (digitalisation is seen as comparatively risky), and “High Performers” (above-average use of digital tools, lowest need for support). The categories also differ in terms of organisational goals, the fit of digitalisation to the attitudes of members and the board, and in relation to the organisational culture. Practical implications: The categories can serve as a guideline for which direction digitalisation in the VSC should be developed. Furthermore, the categories provide a classification that could help sports federations more effectively advise their VSCs. Research contribution: The study complements previous findings that focus on single areas of digitalisation application by a multi-perspective analysis of digitalisation.

Expectation-based types of voluntary sports clubs in regional sports federations.

Sports federations as non-profit organizations play a crucial role for organized sports activities of the population. However, one key responsibility of sports federations is providing needs-based support services to affiliated member sports clubs. Due to limited resources and simultaneously increasing heterogeneous expectations from their member sports clubs, designing an appropriate service portfolio poses increasing difficulties for sports federations. This study addresses these challenges by analyzing member clubs' expectations and identifying distinct expectation types to enable more individually designed services. To analyze the expectations of member clubs (n = 354), the explorative case study was carried out in a regional sports federation in Germany. The findings reveal that member clubs' expectations can be represented using six reliable factors. The subsequent cluster analysis indicates four different expectation-based club types with heterogenous profiles. Based on the z-standardized factor values, the identified club types were labelled as follows: (1) "People Promoters" (32%), (2) "Undemanding" (22%), (3) "Competition-oriented Self-administrators" (23%) and (4) "Demanding Communicators" (23%). The extracted clusters were also reflected and validated by other structural and organizational characteristics of the sports clubs. The extracted types provide a first empirical step to identify different expectation schemes regarding services of sports federations. These schemes enable managers of sports federations to professionalize their service portfolios and, at the same time, to design services contributing to the development of sports clubs in a more targeted manner.

‘Integration is a lot of work.’—A study of integration policies in Norwegian football clubs

The Norwegian civil society holds a welfare mandate to promote the integration of migrants. Included in this mandate is a belief that sport holds a particular potential to facilitate integration. Voluntary sports clubs are perceived as open, democratic, and inclusive arenas in which children and youth can form togetherness and community building regardless of social background. This notion is reflected in national policy documents, stating that today’s sports policy is expected to reflect the diversity of Norwegian society. Leaning on different and critical perspectives on sports-related integration, this study will explore how voluntary football clubs in Norway translate their political mandate of integrating migrant children and youth and discuss the potential impacts of different perceptions and practices of integration. Nine directors of inclusion of different demographical areas in one of the largest cities in Norway were interviewed. The result seems to trace different discourses and types of integration policies, illustrating how sports clubs translate their integration mandate. Both functional and moral approaches were identified, and the study demonstrates how migrants encounter different opportunities and conditions to be integrated into sports as well as other social spheres of the civil society.

A longitudinal analysis of organisational capacity determinants of the perceived need for change, adoption of ‘light’ sports initiatives and organisational growth in voluntary sports clubs

Considering wider societal developments that reflect a demand for personalised services, this study aims to uncover the relationship between the perceived need for change by voluntary sports clubs (VSCs), their adoption of innovative services to promote flexibility of sports participation (also referred to as ‘light’ sports initiatives) and their organisational growth (in terms of membership evolution). Simultaneously, the impact of key organisational capacity (OC) determinants on each of the aforementioned variables is taken into account. In this study, VSCs in Flanders (Belgium) are examined utilising three (generalised) linear mixed model analyses on longitudinal panel data from 2012, 2015 and 2018. The results show a positive relationship between the need for change on the one hand and the adoption of ‘light’ sports initiatives and organisational growth on the other hand, whilst adopting ‘light’ sports initiatives as types of service innovations do not necessarily lead to organisational growth. The results of this study offer implications for the management and policy of VSCs to cater to shifting member demands. This study serves as a stepping-stone for further research to investigate other types of innovation on organisational change and growth.

Expectation based types of voluntary sports clubs in regional sports federations and the perspectives for professionalisation

Sports clubs in different levels of professionalisation show different organisational problems (Lang et al., 2022). At the same time, one part of the key responsibilities of sports federations as umbrella organisations is the needs-based support of voluntary sports clubs (VSC) as their members. However, different professionalisation levels and heterogeneous organisational problems of member clubs are increasingly challenging the design of appropriate service offerings by sports federations. Thus, services provided by sports federations should be adapted in relation to the expectations and needs of its member clubs. In this way sports clubs also effects with their expectations developments within sports federations to optimise their supporting services in a more targeted manner. This study addresses these challenges by analysing VSCs’ expectations and identify distinct expectation types. The empirical study was carried out in a regional sports federation in tennis, the Bavarian Tennis Federation (BTV). This leads to the research questions: What expectations do VSCs as members generally address to the BTV? To what extent can VSCs be classified in terms of their expectations regarding BTV services? To address these expectations, the performance measurement literature provides a fruitful theoretical frame. In order to base appropriate performance parameters, stakeholders’ expectations need to be identified ex ante (Bayle & Madella, 2002). In the literature it is consensus that measuring the performance of sports federations requires a multidimensional approach (e.g., Winand et al., 2010). To analyse expectations of VSCs an online survey was conducted. Access to the survey was given to BTV member club representatives in a leadership position. For operationalisation, an exploratory factor analysis was performed, which shows the best solution with six reliable factors. The identified factors were used for Ward’s hierarchy cluster analysis with squared Euclidean distances. The analysis showed that an optimal cluster solution can be determined with four clusters. Based on the z-standardised factor values the identified clusters were labelled as follows: (1) “People developer” (n = 57, 32%); (2) “Mass sports clubs” (n = 39, 22%); (3) “Self-governmenters” (n = 40, 23%) and (4) “High expecting communicators” (n = 41, 23%). For validation, the extracted clusters are also reflected by other characteristics of the organisations. The findings reveal that there are heterogeneous expectations of VSCs that need to be addressed more individually by sport federations. The extracted types provide a first empirical step to identify different expectation schemes. These schemes enable managers of sports federations to professionalise their service offer portfolio and at the same time, to design targeted services to contribute to the development and professionalisation of sports clubs.

Modelling the organisational socialisation of volunteers in English associational golf clubs

ABSTRACT Research question The research considers the organisational socialisation process for volunteers in associational golf clubs. Research methods Constructivist grounded theory method was used, with qualitative data collected through 28 semi-structured interviews with volunteers at English associational golf clubs. Results and Findings The article develops a model for the organisational socialisation of golf club volunteers. The model highlights an extended period of organisational socialisation, which locates assimilation during club membership before volunteering begins. This prior period of assimilation allows individuals to acquire organisational knowledge and make informed decisions about whether to volunteer. It also shapes their actions as volunteers and the meanings they derive from volunteering. Our findings emphasise the importance of participation among members as a precursor to volunteering. They also highlight how, in the absence of orientation support from the club, movement through the socialisation process depends on individuals’ biographical assets. Implications The model should help golf clubs, and potentially other voluntary sports clubs, manage their organisational socialisation process to develop established members, improve volunteer recruitment and produce long-term volunteers. Improved management of this process could also enhance the diversity of both members and volunteers.

P03-11 Talking to Danish children/adolescents living with cerebral palsy and their parents about perceived motivators and barriers for being physically active - a family perspective

BackgroundChildren and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP) are a vulnerable group who find it challenging to meet current physical activity guidelines, which predispose them to the negative health implications associated with low levels of physical activity and high levels of sedentary time. For these reasons, a key role for many clinicians, parents, and other practitioners working with children and adolescents with cerebral palsy is to encourage and facilitate an increase in habitual physical activity and reduce the amount of time spent sedentary, in order to optimize long-term health outcomes. Since 2014 Danish schools have been committed to enhance physical activity during the school day, but teachers still find it challenging to include children and adolescents with special needs. In Denmark, there is a strong tradition of practicing habitual exercise in the voluntary sports clubs (83% of children and adolescents). In sports clubs, these children are being physically active as well as experiencing being a part of a community. Children and adolescents living with CP are often not able to participate in these sports clubs which excludes them from the active and social life that's happening there. This study acknowledges that parents of children and adolescents living with CP play an important role in supporting them being physically active. Therefore, this study aims to identify perceived barriers and motivators for being physically active, experienced by this particular group of children and parents. This knowledge can be used by parents, clinicians, coaches, teachers and other practitioners to guide families living with CP towards a more physically active lifestyle and possibly optimize long-term physical and social health outcomes for children and adolescents with CP.MethodsThis study will investigate the children's and parents' perceptions of motivators and barriers. The study is designed as a multi-family member interview study involving 10-14 combined in-depth interviews with children aged 8-15 (GMFCS I-III) and their parents. Interviews will be analysed thematically within and between groups.Results and conclusionsThe study will take place in spring 2020 as a part of a pre-graduate research year and thus data and conclusions will be presented at the conference.

The role of the Swedish Sports Confederation in delivering sport in socioeconomically deprived areas

ABSTRACT This study explores the role of the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC) in its pursuit of supporting sports in socioeconomically deprived areas, specifically targeting ethnic minorities. This is no easy task, seeing as the SSC does so through ‘steering’ voluntary sport clubs towards social policy goals. Utilising multiple qualitative sources from 35 SSC representatives, this study examines the practices of the SSC according to Bronfenbrenner’s Process-Person-Context-Time approach. The results show that the SSC foreground their practices by initiating inter-sectoral collaborations to ensure sustainable funding to clubs and that the ‘principle of closeness’ permeates the practices; every link in the process is locally embedded and builds upon the strength of the clubs. The sport club consultant, acting as the direct link between exo-level directives and the clubs’ micro-setting becomes a key factor whose individual characteristics become a decisive factor. In conclusion, the SSC works in a complex collaborative sphere in which specific individuals become central in reaching the clubs. Importantly, the SSC adopts a bottom-up approach, recognising the strength and resourcefulness of the locals. The results have implications for federations that work under the governance of neoliberal result-oriented regimes – if sport clubs should carry out this work, the federations need to understand how they must accommodate and assist these sport clubs adequately.

Leveraging the London 2012 Paralympic Games to increase sports participation: the role of voluntary sports clubs

ABSTRACT Purpose This study investigates the extent to which English voluntary sports clubs leveraged the London 2012 Paralympic Games, and what impact leveraging had on the sports participation of people with disabilities (PwD) at clubs. Research methods Realist evaluation was used to frame the research. An online questionnaire was administered to English clubs between 27 January 2018 and 8 April 2018. Four hundred and thirty-three clubs were included in the final analysis. Findings Most clubs did not leverage the London 2012 Paralympics. Clubs that leveraged were more likely to have increased their PwD membership. Holding taster sessions was the most effective leveraging activity. Principal components analysis revealed two leveraging constraints: knowledge of disability, and resources to leverage. A one-way MANOVA revealed clubs from inclusively funded national governing bodies were more likely to be constrained by their limited knowledge of disability. Implications This study suggests specific disability provision at clubs was important to the successful leveraging of the 2012 Paralympics for increased sport participation of PwD. The intention and capacity of the club to support leveraging were also important factors. Research contribution This study produces empirical data on the role and effectiveness of clubs as sites for sport participation for PwD following the Paralympic Games.

The why and how of co-production between professionals and volunteers: a qualitative study of community-based healthcare in Denmark

PurposeThe present paper describes the interplay between the “why” and “how” in co-production based on a case study of community-based healthcare in Denmark involving municipalities and voluntary sports clubs. So far, policy practice and research have focussed on the “why” – the rationales and pre-requisites – of co-production. However, there seems to be a lack of knowledge about the “how” of co-production in the interplay between professionals and volunteers. The paper asks how co-production is being perceived and practised according to existing norms and objectives of public healthcare and civil society, drawing on the theory of institutional logics.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a critical case study approach to examine the practice of co-production. The analysis builds on qualitative data from nine semi-structured interviews, two information interviews and project documents. Interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and coded.FindingsThis paper demonstrates that compatibility of institutional logics was not given, nor did the co-existence of potentially competing logics necessarily result in conflict in co-production. Instead, in this case study co-production emerged as highly contingent, reflecting the dynamic interaction between logics and context-specific management.Originality/valueThis paper makes an original contribution to the conceptual understanding of co-production in emphasising the benefit of paying attention to the network logic when building bridges between public healthcare and civil society – and to unite the seemingly contradictory “why” and “how” of co-production in practice.

The relevance of migration status for voluntary tasks in sports clubs

ABSTRACT Current research has identified practices of ethnic closure and discrimination regarding voluntary positions in sports clubs. This article explores whether people with migration background differ in terms of taking on voluntary tasks from people without migration background. The analyses build on data from the project ‘Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe’ (SIVSCE) that includes information about volunteering, as well as, individual characteristics of the members (n = 10,641) in voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) from ten European countries. When differentiating between first and second-generation migrants, the findings show that for all the examined voluntary tasks in VSCs, second-generation migrants are significantly better represented than first-generation migrants. Multiple regression analyses for different voluntary tasks indicate that direct effects of migration status disappear under the control of other socio-economic and membership-related variables. This indicates that the underrepresentation of first-generation migrants in the different task areas is not greatly influenced by ethnic closure and discrimination in the recruiting practices of the clubs, rather differences in volunteering are associated with variances of underlying individual characteristics such as educational level and membership duration.

Matching Perspectives of Refugees and Voluntary Sports Clubs in Germany

In recent years thousands of refugees from the Middle East and Africa have moved to Europe. Many of them have experienced extremely stressful events and suffer, amongst other things, from lack of social relationships. Policy makers do often convey the impression that voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) can easily help to deal with these issues, as they provide broad offers matching every person’s individual needs. With only few exceptions, research has focused on the view of VSCs and their officials, but mostly left out the perspectives of refugees themselves, especially those outside organized sports. Thus, the focus of the present contribution is on the mutual fit between refugees’ expectations and the offers that sports organizations have. Following a socio-ecological perspective, data from a research project will be used to illustrate both perspectives. Refugees were asked about hindering conditions for participating in sports. In addition, functionaries of sports organizations were asked to answer survey questions regarding the efforts that sports organizations make to include refugees. The results reveal that the majority of the refugees had already actively participated in sports offers in their countries of origin. After arriving in Germany, the sporting habits changed, mostly due to organizational and financial reasons. With respect to functionaries we found that the idea that sport is integrative per se is widely believed in the field.

Conceptualising the inspirational effect of elite sport: a case study of field hockey in Belgium

ABSTRACT Research question This study aims to better understand and conceptualise the dynamics of inspirational elite sport. Specifically, taking Belgian hockey as a case study, this article is concerned with understanding how, why, and under what circumstances elite sport influences grassroots sport participation in voluntary sports clubs (i.e. trickle-down effect). Research methods Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with high-profile stakeholders who have been involved in the development of field hockey in Belgium. Results The inspirational effect of elite sport is conceptualised through dynamic relationships between the properties of elite sport that act as drivers of inspiration and the engagement of stakeholders, that identified these drivers as catalysts for additional investments to strengthen elite sport. It is however imperative to fulfil preconditions at the grassroots level to realise potential outcomes of the inspirational effect on individuals’ behaviour. Implications If sport policy intends to deploy elite sport as a vehicle for increased sport participation in voluntary sport clubs (VSCs), properties of inspiring elite sport should be actively considered and managed with the engagement of intersectoral stakeholders with diverse interests. In addition to strengthening elite sports, policy instruments should be utilised to ensure that inspirational effects can occur in VSCs.