Board power and performance within voluntary sport organisations

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between board members’ perceptions of board performance and the patterns of power that exist within the boards of voluntary sport organisations. Based on the work of Murray, et al (1992) five patterns of board power were investigated; the executive dominated board; the chair dominated board; the fragmented power board; the power sharing board; and the powerless board. Each of these patterns of board power was found to exist within voluntary sport organisations; This extends the debate in the sport management literature that has tended to view the board‐executive relationship as a simple dichotomy of volunteer or executive led. The results indicated that the members of ineffective boards were more likely to describe their board as either fragmented, powerless or led by the chair of the board, than were the members of effective boards. Higher levels of board performance were associated with the perception of lower levels of board powerlessness and fragmentation. Suggestions for future research are made concerning why these variations occur, how these power patterns emerge within boards and their impact on board performance.