Professionalisation of sports federations – A multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences

Nagel, Siegfried; Schlesinger, Torsten (2015). Professionalisation of sports federations – A multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences. Seventh annual congres [sic!] of the Swiss society of sports sciences. Lausanne. 12-13 February 2015. Programme and book of abstracts. Lausanne: SGS

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Introduction:
International
and
national
sports
federations
as
well
as
their
member
organisations
(usually
sports
clubs)
are
key
actors
within
the
sports
system
and
have
a
wide
range
of
relationships
outside
the
sports
system
(e.g.
with
the
state,
sponsors,
and
the
media).
They
are
currently
facing
major
challenges
such
as
growing
competition
in
top-­‐level
sports,
democratisation
of
sports
with
“sports
for
all”
and
sports
as
the
answer
to
social
problems
(integration,
education,
health,
unemployment,
etc.).
In
this
context,
professionalising
sports
organisations
seems
to
be
an
appropriate
strategy
to
face
these
challenges
and
solve
current
problems.
This
has
led
to
a
profound
organisational
change,
particularly
within
sports
federations,
characterised
by
the
strengthening
of
institutional
management
(managerialism)
and
the
implementation
of
efficiency-­‐based
management
instruments
and
paid
staff.
In
this
context
the
questions
arise
how
sports
organisations
professionalise
and
what
consequences
this
may
have.
Theoretical
framework:
The
goal
of
our
presentation
is
to
review
the
international
literature
and
develop
an
appropriate
concept
of
professionalisation
in
sport
federations.
Our
multi-­‐level
approach
based
on
social
theory
of
action
integrates
the
current
concepts
and
perspectives
for
analysing
professionalisation
in
sports
federations.
We
specify
the
framework
for
the
following
research
perspectives:
(1)
forms,
(2)
causes
and
mechanisms,
(3)
consequences
and
(4)
dynamics,
and
discuss
the
reciprocal
relations
between
sports
federations
and
their
member
organisations
in
this
context.
When
analysing
these
different
research
perspectives,
it
is
important
to
select
or
elaborate
appropriate
theoretical
concepts
to
match
the
general
multi-­‐level
framework
Discussion:
The
elaborated
multi-­‐level
framework
for
analysing
professionalisation
in
sports
federations
is
able
to
integrate
most
of
the
existing
theoretical
concepts
and
therefore,
the
broad
range
of
endogenous
as
well
as
exogenous
factors
that
might
influence
the
professionalisation
of
sports
organisations.
Based
on
the
theoretical
framework,
we
can
identify
several
consequences
for
the
methodological
design
of
studies
intending
to
analyse
the
different
perspectives
of
professionalisation
in
sports
organisations:
Data
have
to
be
collected
on
the
different
levels.
Not
only
the
forms
of
professionalisation
and
relevant
structures
of
the
organisations
should
be
taken
into
account
but
also
important
characteristics
of
the
environment
(macro
level)
as
well
as
members
or
member
organisations,
particularly
key
actors
who
might
play
a
crucial
role
in
gaining
an
understanding
of
professionalisation
processes
in
sports
organisations.
In
order
to
carry
out
a
complex
organisational
research
design,
it
seems
necessary
to
focus
on
case
studies
–
an
approach
that
has
become
increasingly
important
in
organisational
research.
Different
strategies
and
methods
of
data
collection
have
to
be
used
within
the
case
studies
(e.g.
interviews
with
experts
within
the
organisations,
questionnaire
for
selected
people
in
the
organisation,
document
analysis).
Therefore,
qualitative
and
quantitative
research
strategies
have
to
be
combined.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Division/Institute:	07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Sport Science (ISPW) 07 Faculty of Human Sciences > Institute of Sport Science (ISPW) > Sport Sociology and Management
UniBE Contributor:	Nagel, Siegfried, Schlesinger, Torsten
Subjects:	300 Social sciences, sociology & anthropology 700 Arts > 790 Sports, games & entertainment
Publisher:	SGS
Submitter:	Siegfried Nagel
Date Deposited:	10 Mar 2016 15:59
Last Modified:	05 Dec 2022 14:53
URI:	https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/79054