Corporate social responsibility and environmental sustainability: Why professional sport is greening the playing field

In this study, we explore institutional forces affecting environmental sustainability in professional sport teams and leagues in North America. Interviews with sport executives and executives from partner groups, 122 websites and organizational documents, and 56 media reports were examined. Data revealed how environmental management practices are being diffused in professional sport organizations. Evidence indicated associative behavior among sport organizations with respect to environmental management. Data also illustrated that media played a role in driving and defining the type and extent of involvement in professional sport teams’ environmental sustainability efforts. We discuss environmental sustainability as it affects a team's or league's CSR related initiatives (i.e., averting legal recourse, saving money, as well as building stronger relationships with stakeholders (e.g., customers, fans, local communities, federal governments and corporate partners)), and speculate how these efforts might evolve and inform the development of environmental sustainability in organizations in the sport, service and entertainment sectors.     

The delicate art of rebranding a minor league baseball franchise: Practices,pitfalls, and payoffs of rebranding the Winston-Salem Warthogs

This case study deals with the transformative rebranding of the Winston-Salem Warthogs, a Class High-A minor league baseball franchise and affiliate of Major League Baseball's Chicago White Sox, as the Winston-Salem Dash. It was written and designed to be multi-faceted for instructors to use in various sport management courses, such as sport marketing, organizational behavior, human resource management, ticket and sponsorship sales, and public relations. There are three primary aims of the study. The first aim is to challenge students to critically assess the practices of external rebranding (with implications relative to consumer attitudes and brand equity) and internal rebranding (with workplace outcomes that favor employees and uphold brand values). The second aim is to make students consider the potential pitfalls of rebranding with regard to crisis and contingency planning and public relations. The third aim is to highlight the potential payoffs of rebranding when managers of sport organizations are willing to consider changes in views regarding the spirit and culture of the work environment (internal brand) and the overall quality and characteristics of brand marks (external brand). As a core feature of this real-world case study, interviews with stakeholders and personnel of the franchise give a glimpse at some real scenarios that students may face as they enter into the industry of team sport marketing.     

The role of mindfulness and occupational stress in the goal orientations of development and winning

Emphasis on winning in youth sport, fueled by media, parents, coaches, as well as communities, has become a key concern for positive youth development in sport. By integrating the topic of mindfulness into organizational behavior in sport management, the author investigated how sport leaders in youth sports focused or refocused on the two athletic goals of development and winning in their stressful working conditions. Data were collected through an online survey completed by 478 sport managers across the United States. The results indicated that mindfulness was negatively associated with perceived stress and positively associated with development goal orientation. Additionally, perceived stress was positively associated with winning goal orientation and fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and winning goal orientation. The findings of this research highlight the importance of mindfulness and perceived stress in the sport managers’ pursuit of two different goals in youth sport.     

Managing sport for health: An introduction to the special issue

Sport is often viewed as vehicle to achieve positive health outcomes. While sport's potential to contribute to health is rarely disputed, sport is not always managed in ways that specifically prioritise health objectives, and evidence regarding sport's contribution to health has been inconsistent to date. This special issue was designed to advance a research agenda in relation to the management of sport for health. Articles published in the special issue examine sport management practices that impact health, both positively and negatively. The authors identified three overarching themes, with respect to how sport can be managed towards the achievement of health outcomes: sport should be aligned with community needs and should be empowering; sport should be adaptable and evolving to ensure sport culture values health; and, sport organisations should leverage partnership for health to promote organisational sustainability. In future research, scholars are encouraged to further examine the three identified themes and expand on other findings presented in the special issue, towards a stronger evidence base in relation to the management of sport for health. Opportunities exist to continue to advance knowledge regarding the potential for management strategies, models, and practices to lead to positive-and importantly, negatives-health outcomes through sport. If sport management scholars and practitioners are to meaningfully contribute to health agendas, health objectives must play a central role in reshaping sport systems and strategies toward the achievement of such outcomes.     

Challenges for sport development: Women's entry level cycling participation

Sport participation is an issue of relevance to sport managers, yet it is an often-neglected area of sport management research. Cycling is a particularly complex form of participation to examine given its many formats, including sport, recreational and commuter cycling, and the multifaceted nature of the cycling landscape involving a broad range of stakeholders. In Australia, women are underrepresented in cycling participation and membership (ABS, 2012, CA, 2014), yet women show an interest in cycling training courses. The present paper explores motivations, supports and constraints reported by a group of entry-level female cyclists who participated in a training programme accredited by AustCycle, an initiative led by Cycling Australia. We draw on a health and sport development driven framework, informed by social ecological theory (Rowe et al., 2013), and suited to examining the issue of women's cycling participation in Australia. Results show that a range of individual characteristics, and factors within the social and physical environment, were perceived by study participants as barriers to participation. Of these, skill level, confidence, traffic/road conditions, and social support networks held particular relevance. Participants also discussed specific cycling barriers and supports of relevance to certain forms of cycling. Preliminary insights into perceptions held by a group of entry-level female cyclists highlight overlaps between cycling formats and indicate that conceptual advancements in the development of sport, and development through sport could be collectively considered in the context of women's cycling participation. Further research opportunities were also identified.     

Sport and Recreation on Robben Island

The article provides insight into an important part of South Africa's sport history that has not been explored yet: What was the role sport and recreation played on Robben Island in the days when it served as political prison? The research has been a collaborative project of the Department for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Western Cape Sports Council, Mayibuye Centre and the University of the Western Cape's Interdisciplinary Center for Sport Science and Development. Facilitated by the establishment of a ‘Robben Island General Recreational Committee' in the 1960s, sport and recreation took a very special form on the Island. Unknown to South Africans and the world, during Apartheid, sport and recreation on Robben Island were used as a vehicle to unite people and to promote values of respect, integrity, dignity, teamwork and fair play as an integral part of a holistic person. Leisure activities became a place of triumph of human spirit, body and soul. The research facilitated the process of digitisation of archives from the Island. Numerous sources were discovered, giving an insight into the role of sport and recreation for many of South Africa's past and present leaders. The study also highlights the role sport and recreation played in the unique journey to freedom and democracy.     

“Pick and choose our battles” – Understanding organizational capacity in a sport for development and peace organization

A growing number of sport for development and peace (SDP) organizations seek to address social issues through sport. Hall et al. (2003) created a multidimensional framework that suggests SDP and other nonprofit organizations need human resources, financial, and structural capacities to accomplish their organizational goals and objectives, but may face challenges with developing these capacities. The current study used this framework and examined the capacities of Gainline Africa – a small SDP nonprofit organization based in North America and operating programming in an East African post-conflict community – to identify critical elements that influenced the organization's ability to fulfill its mission. Semi-structured interviews (n = 10) were conducted with its North American staff members. The study's findings build upon the theoretical understanding of organizational capacity within nonprofit sport organizations, and several new elements such as community funding and managing nontraditional Global North-Global South dynamics, were revealed that could be unique to the SDP context. Practically speaking, smaller SDP organizations can use the findings to help increase their organizational capacity through leveraging local partnerships and understanding the role and usage of paid versus volunteer staff members.     

Motivation for and Extent of Participation in Organized Sports by High School Seniors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to replicate previous studies in which selected demographic and socioeconomic factors were examined as influences on socialization into youth sport and (b) to extend previous research by analyzing the effects of parental influence on involvement in and motivations toward sport. The range of focus in this study was from the time of the subjects' first encounter with organized sport through the senior year of high school. Data were obtained from direct administration of the questionnaire to twelfth-grade students in four Jackson, Mississippi, high schools. Regression analysis revealed that significant independent variables accounted for nearly 26% of the variance in sport involvement in one setting and nearly 10% of the variance in motivations toward involvement in sport and recreational activities. Subjects' gender, their fathers' past athletic experiences, and mothers' educational levels were the most influential independent variables. Influences varied between school sports and out-of-school sports and over the sports career of subjects.     

Exploring how external stakeholders shape social innovation in sport for development and peace

The purpose of this study was to examine how innovative SDP organizations’ interactions with external stakeholders influence the social innovation process. Innovation represents the implementation of new or improved ways to promote social change. The authors conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with 48 SDP leaders representing organizations located across six continents. Innovative SDP agencies engaged in numerous non-financial relationships with a strong emphasis on collective learning, a shared willingness to spread the risk of innovation across organizational boundaries, and a reciprocal process for co-creating new and improved solutions for how sport can be used better to promote positive social change. Social innovation in the context of SDP emerged across different levels (intra-, inter-, and extra-group) from a collective and interactive process between SDP organizations and external stakeholders. Their innovation activities included identifying opportunities and generating ideas for implementing new practices and scaling creative solutions. This study extends the existing SDP literature and underscores the need to adopt a more specific external perspective when examining the process of innovation in sport organizations.     

An Organizational Life Cycle Approach to Exploring the Elite Sport Legacy of Summer Olympic Host Nations: The Cases of China (Beijing 2008) and Australia (Sydney 2000)

Abstract

This paper investigates the elite sport legacies of hosting the Summer Olympics for China (Beijing 2008) and Australia (Sydney 2000). The classic organizational life cycle approach provides the conceptual framework for this retroductive study. The data for both cases are sourced from official publications, academic research, and documents from various government departments and organizations. Additional data are drawn from three semi-structured interviews with key Chinese stakeholders. The analysis provides clear evidence that governments and their stakeholders use the opportunities afforded by a home Olympics to boost Olympic performance. China and Australia experienced a similar four-phase pattern of elite sport legacy life cycle: start-up, growth, maintenance, and decline. Both countries also shared many similar policy and management factors throughout each stage. An increased awareness of the sequential nature of elite sport legacy can help Olympic host countries make a more informed decision about their long-term strategies for elite sport success.     

Drivers of illicit drug use regulation in Australian sport

Most Australian sport stakeholders not only believe that government regulation is a good thing, but also assume that intervention in the drug-use problem will improve sport's social outcomes and operational integrity. In this paper we examine the regulation of illicit drug use in Australian sport through an interrogation of two cases: the Australian Football League and the National Rugby League. Using Pierre Bourdieu's conceptual frames of social field, capital, and habitus, we aim to secure a clearer understanding of the drivers of Australian sport's illicit drug regulations by (1) identifying those stakeholders who set the drug regulation agenda, (2) revealing the values and dispositions that underpin these regulations, and (3) explaining how dominant stakeholders go about sustaining their position and marginalising those stakeholders with opposing drug regulation claims. Our results show that Australian sport's drug-use regulations are driven by a set of values and dispositions that views sport as an instrument for shaping the character of its participants, and drugs as a threat to sport's moral fabric and good standing. The dominant stakeholders, comprising the Commonwealth Government, its sport agencies, and the major governing bodies for sport, imposed these values and dispositions on peripheral stakeholders by designing a drugs-in-sport social field that yielded capital and power to only those participants who endorsed these values and dispositions. Peripheral stakeholders – including players, their agents, and drug-treatment professionals – who mostly shared different values and dispositions, were sidelined, and denied the opportunity of adding to their already limited supplies of capital, power, and policy making influence.     

‘To honor and glorify God’: the role of religion in one intercollegiate athletics culture

Numerous events have provided evidence that the cultural values and assumptions of intercollegiate athletic departments are often incongruent with those of their host institutions. This discrepancy has even been evident in Christian institutions which seek to integrate faith into the learning experience. Using the organizational culture perspective, this study sought to determine how religion influenced the culture of one intercollegiate athletics department. The study took place at a highly selective evangelical Christian college with a nationally competitive athletic department. Data were collected through interviews with 19 campus leaders, observation of cultural events and document analysis. Analysis occurred qualitatively through a process of theorizing. The results indicate that evangelical Christianity played a significant role in the athletic department's culture by constraining its membership, influencing its pedagogy and guiding department decisions. As a result, its values and assumptions were consistent with those of the overall campus culture. The reasons underlying this cultural integration offer coaches and administrators of all institutional affiliations the possibility that the organizational culture perspective can be used to create athletic programs that are more consistent with institutional values.     

How can Country-of-Origin image be leveraged to create global sporting goods brands?

While much marketing research has focused on brand creation and management, less is known about the creation of sport brands. This paper complements the stakeholder model of branding and brand creation, which highlights the role of a firm's stakeholders in the analysis of brands, by including country-specific factors based on location and Country-of-Origin (CoO). Using a sample of innovative New Zealand-based firms, our qualitative study uses a comparative case method in two subsector settings to investigate how they have built outdoor sport brands based on that country's particular country-specific factors. We show how firms are able to leverage New Zealand's strong sport product category-country associations to create brand value. Our findings confirm that CoO image together with sport product category-country associations enables the creation of brands in sport product categories. Our paper contributes to theory and practice by extending understanding of brand creation by demonstrating the importance of location and product category. Further research directions are suggested.     

Exploring cognitive restructuring: A multi-foci leadership perspective

Athletics teams operate in contexts where team culture fluctuates with constant change (i.e., player turnover). In such dynamic sport environments, a strong leadership core needs to be in place to effectively navigate changes in team culture. The purpose of this study was to use the multi-foci perspective of leadership to explore the values and shared leadership qualities associated with proactively managing cognitive restructuring. A case study approach was used to examine a female sport team that recently encountered a shift in team culture. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with players and coaches (N = 31) who represented both leaders and followers from a shared leadership perspective. The findings contribute to sport management theory by defining the complexity of cognitive restructuring and establishing the necessity of shared leadership (i.e., leaders and followers) during this stage of the change process.     

The Early Development of Women's Judo in Belgium from the Liberation to the late 1950s: Emancipation,Sport and Self-defence

This cultural and comparative history examines the early development of women's judo in Belgium through gender and sport, and within the different communities and federations. Born in the late 1940s, women's judo in Belgium remained both a minority sport and under the domination of men during the 1950s. Circumscribed by dominant gender norms imposing a traditional representation of women, women's judo was, nevertheless, also a means for emancipation. It turned to recreational sport and self-defence in the Flemish part of the country, as well as temporarily to competitions in one part of the French-speaking community. The latter was generally a more conducive space to recognition and emancipation of female judokas. These similarities and differences lay in the articulation of several factors: cultural specificities of judo, influence of French and Japanese models, conceptions of pioneers and federal leaders, sociocultural characteristics of the linguistic communities, importance of Catholicism and emancipation of women.     

Developing Citizenship through Sport: The Impact of a Sport-Based Volunteer Programme on Young Sport Leaders

The Millennium Volunteers (MV) is a nation-wide government initiative designed to encourage citizenship in young people by providing opportunities to volunteer their time in the community for the benefit of themselves and others. This paper examines an MV programme focused solely on sport that sets out to provide training and support for young sport leaders to do volunteer work in their schools and the community. The rationale behind this study is to describe the psycho-social characteristics of young sport leaders (males = 138; females = 168; mean age = 16.6 years) from across England who were involved in the programme. Assessments were made on their motives and attitudes to volunteer work and their perceptions of leadership skills over a nine-month period. Overall results showed that leadership skills and volunteer motivations increased while the importance of and attraction to volunteering also changed over time. Providing a profile of young sport leaders and a measure of the impact of their volunteer activity may be of benefit to sporting organisations, educators and community administrators who wish to increase interest and opportunities in volunteer work by young people. This study demonstrates the advantage of using sport and volunteering as a means for encouraging pro-social behaviour and citizenship among young people and the positive impact this combination can have personally on the volunteer.     

A crisis of confidence: women coaches' responses to their engagement in resistance

This study centres upon the accounts of master women coaches based in the UK, exploring how they have individually experienced such acts of resistance as reaching the top of such a male dominated profession. By going beyond previous positivist feminist approaches to this focus of inquiry, I employ a feminist cultural studies framework to understand how the social construction of what it means to be a woman impacts women coaches' individual sense of self and confidence to lead. The discussions are based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with six senior national women coaches of team sports in the UK. The data highlight the success of masculine hegemony of coaching through documenting women's reluctance to advance their coaching career through a lack of self-belief and motivation as a consequence of their culturally and historically marginal position. The findings illustrate a pressing need for a revision of the dominant values inherent in professional sport in order to engage and retain potential women leaders.     

The role of management in achieving health outcomes in SFD programmes: A stakeholder perspective

There is an abundance of social issues, both health-related and otherwise, that health professionals and sport managers can address using sport as a mechanism. However, there is much debate regarding the impact sport is making in achieving development goals. In this study, the authors utilised a case study design to explore how stakeholders perceive the management of health-focused sport for development (SFD) programmes to contribute to the achievement of desired programmatic goals. The authors provided a side-by-side assessment of a sport-plus and sport-plus programme, through a qualitative case study design. Results indicate that while stakeholder perceptions of goal achievement are similar, the strengths of each type of programme vary. The authors discuss implications for these differences and the importance of stakeholder perspective in SFD.