Becoming a business: an environmental, transitional and organisational analysis of Bradford and Queen’s Park Football Clubs before 1914

ABSTRACT

This study offers a tripartite approach to the analysis of the transition of two football clubs, one in England and the other in Scotland, from their beginnings as recreational football clubs to them becoming significant sports businesses by 1914. First, an environmental review assesses external themes and the economic factors that shaped change; second a transformational review looks at the dynamics of becoming a business; and, finally, an organizational review examines the internal characteristics of the clubs as businesses.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest is reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Vamplew, ‘Theories and Typologies’.

2. Dewhirst, Room at the Top; Dewhirst, Life at the Top; Dewhirst, Wool City Rivals; Robinson, Queen’s Park; and Crampsey, The Game.

3. Young, Willow Vanishes.

4. Ibid.

5. Dewhirst, Room at the Top.

6. The Golden Penny, 28 January 1899, 94–5.

7. Vamplew, Pay Up.

8. Young, Willow Vanishes.

9. Vamplew, ‘Remembering Us’.

10. Vamplew, ‘Pleasing to Know’.

11. Robinson, Queen’s Park, 284.

12. Ibid., 289.

13. Ibid., 185.

14. Porter, Competitive Advantage.

15. McDowell, ‘Queen’s Park’.

16. Vamplew, ‘Scottish Football’; and Cairney, Hall of Fame, 38.

17. Scottish Umpire, 6 May 1885.

18. Holt, Sport, 347.

19. Scottish Sport, 23 December 1898.

20. Robinson, Queen’s Park,402.

21. Scottish Referee, 31 March 1892.

22. Ross, Roar of the Crowd, 84–87.

23. Crampsey, League, 43.

24. Dewhirst, Room at the Top.

25. O’Brien, Played in Glasgow, 48.

26. SFA Minutes, 7 February 1880 and 24 November 1909.

27. SFA Annual Report 1890/91.

28. Bradford Daily Argus, 14 October 1905.

29. Dewhirst, Life at the Top.

30. It would be worth exploring the characteristics of clubs who were followers rather than leaders.

31. Letter Books, 5 October 1892.