Transparency and accountability in Brazilian National Sport Organisations

Abstract

This study examines the prevalence of transparency and accountability in Brazilian National Sports Organizations. Transparency is an organization’s ability to acquire and disseminate accurate and relevant information and knowledge. Accountability refers to an organization’s duty or obligation to provide an account or explanation of their actions. Both transparency and accountability are associated with modernization and good governance. In this study, we collected annual indicators of transparency and accountability between 2015 and 2021 for 34 Brazilian National Sports Organizations. Data were analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE). The three key findings of the research were as follows: (1) transparency and accountability increased over the years; (2) there was selective growth in transparency and accountability dimensions; and (3) there was stagnation for audit (AUD), an accountability indicator. These findings suggest that the modernization of Brazilian National Sports Organizations is underway, but there is still potential for improvement.

Keywords:

• Transparency
• accountability
• good governance
• sport development
• sport management
• NSO

REVIEWING EDITOR:

• Mike Rayner, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, UK

SUBJECTS:

• Sports Development
• Sports Policy
• Elite Sport Development
• Strategic Sports Devlopment

Acknowledgments

The authors extend their gratitude to Sou do Esporte and all researchers involved.

Authors’ contributions

The authors Gustavo Bavaresco, Geoff Dickson, Philipe Camargo, Thiago Santos, Fernando Marinho Mezzadri were involved in the conception and design; Gustavo Bavaresco and Thiago Santos were in the analysis and interpretation of the data; Gustavo Bavaresco, Geoff Dickson, Philipe Camargo were with the drafting of the paper; Gustavo Bavaresco, Geoff Dickson, Fernando Marinho Mezzadri were and revising it critically for intellectual content; and Gustavo Bavaresco, Geoff Dickson, Fernando Marinho Mezzadri with the final approval of the version to be published. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in [Mendeley Data] at https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/gbtj43xtx9/1.

Additional information

Funding

This work was financed in part by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Brasil (CAPES), Finance Code 001

Notes on contributors

Gustavo Bavaresco

Gustavo Bavaresco (Master in Sport Management, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, Portugal) is a Ph.D. candidate at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR), Brazil, and a researcher at the Sports Intelligence Research Institute at the same university. His research interests include sports governance and management, sport development, sports public policies, sports events, and sports volunteering.

Geoff Dickson

Geoff Dickson (Ph.D., Griffith University), Associate Professor, La Trobe University, La Trobe Business School, Department of Management, Sport and Tourism. His research interests include sport management, sport marketing and sport governance.

Philipe Camargo

Philipe Camargo (Ph.D., Federal University of Paraná), Professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Pantanal Campus. Researcher at the Sports Intelligence Research Institute - UFPR. He works mainly on the following research themes: sport; state; public policies, management, and governance of sport.

Thiago Santos

Thiago Santos (Ph.D., University of Lisbon), Professor, European University, Department of Sport Management. His research interests include sports governance, management, public sports policies, sports events, marketing, quality of service in sports programs, and sports against match-fixing.

Fernando Marinho Mezzadri

Fernando Marinho Mezzadri (Ph.D., Campinas State University/UNICAMP) is currently a Professor at the Federal University of Paraná (UFPR) and Dean of Planning, Budget, and Finance at UFPR and coordinates the Sports Intelligence Research Institute. He currently develops research in the areas of public sports policies and sports management.