Strategic management failures in the pursuit of community sport development in a local sports council

ABSTRACT

Rationale/purpose: This case study examined how board members’ actions, experiences, and priorities influenced the strategic management process related to the pursuit of community sport development in a local sports council.

Design/methodology/approach: The study incorporates interviews, document analysis, and active-member researcher observations with stakeholder theory to provide insight from multiple stakeholders into the role of the board of directors in the strategic management process.

Findings: Despite good intentions, the Council was not able to effectively utilize a strategic management process to foster community sport development due to unrealized stakeholder buy-in to the Council's philosophy, reduced board collaboration, and strong self-interest driving an agenda towards particular strategic issues.

Practical implications: Recommendations are provided for navigating the challenges of strategizing for community sport development.

Research contribution: The findings offer a critical perspective on the role of board of directors in the strategic management process and the challenges associated with using strategic management for the pursuit of community sport development.

KEYWORDS:

• Community sport development
• strategic management
• local sports councils
• stakeholder theory

Disclosure statement

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