The merger of the women’s and men’s golf national sport organisations in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Purpose

NZ Golf was established after a merger of the Women’s Golf Association and (men’s) New Zealand Golf in 2005. The purpose of the study was to examine (1) the gendering of the negotiations and, (2) the implications of the gendered negotiations on the establishment of NZ Golf.

Methodology

We situate our research in the socio-political context of mergers, incorporating gender into organisational literature focussing on their strategic, financial, and integration dimensions. Semi-structured interviews with key female and male stakeholders were informed by document analysis.

Findings

Findings revealed that the financial and strategic elements of mergers were gendered, and that the gendered integration stage had implications for the for the establishment of the new organisation.

Research Contribution

The influence of gender fluctuated throughout the merger process. We argue for future research in this area for further research on intersectionality in sport organisations.

Practical implications

We encourage managers to understand how gender relations are historically embedded in sport organisations to understand their contemporary state. We call for managers to consider support might be required for future negotiations.

Originality and value

We contribute understanding of gender relations in contemporary sport organisations by examining gendered negotiations and their implications.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender
• neo-liberalism
• merger
• organisational power and values

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 SPARC was the government agency responsible for sport funding in New Zealand from 2002 to 2012. In 2012, it was renamed Sport New Zealand (Sport NZ). We use the label SPARC to be historically accurate.