Cultural self-perceptions of German sport organizations in an intersectoral comparison

Abstract

This paper addresses the question as to how far cultures of sport organizations reflect the business environment and sectoral paradigms they are in. In general, the organization of sport can be assigned to the three economic sectors (non-profit, for-profit, state). Within the theories about organizations, the differences between these economic sectors are stressed time and again. It can be assumed that sport organizations' cultures differ depending on their affiliation to a specific economic sector. In this study, cultural self-perceptions of managers of sport organizations in Germany in the different economic sectors were assessed using a standardized questionnaire. In order to answer the research question a cluster analysis was made. The clusters were found to hardly show any correlation with the three sectors as none of the organizational types dominate a certain cluster. The results are discussed with the Sociological New Institutionalism which explains actions and decisions as a result of the dominating structures of the social–institutional framework.

Notes

¹ Cf. Hansen, Die Mentalität des Erwerbs; Horch, Strukturbesonderheiten freiwilliger Vereinigungen; Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung; Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft; Wex, Der Nonprofit-Sektor der Organisationsgesellschaft.

² Cf. Hansen, Die Mentalität des Erwerbs; Horch, Strukturbesonderheiten freiwilliger Vereinigungen; Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung; Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft; Wex, Der Nonprofit-Sektor der Organisationsgesellschaft.

³ Jaques, The Changing Culture of a Factory.

⁴ Cf. Hofstede et al., ‘Measuring Organizational Cultures’, 286.

⁵ Cf. Ouchi, Theory Z; Pascale and Athos, The Art of the Japanese Management; Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence.

⁶ Morgan, Images of Organization, 117.

⁷ See, for example, Deal and Kennedy, Corporate Cultures; Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence.

⁸ Baker, Organizational Culture.

⁹ Ouchi, Theory Z: How American business can meet the Japanese challenge; Pascale and Athos, The Art of Japanese Management: Applications for American executives; Deal and Kennedy, Corporate Cultures: The rites and rituals of corporate life; Peters and Waterman, In Search of Excellence: Lessons from America's best run companies.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ Slack, Understanding Sport Organizations, 271.

¹² Ibid.

¹³ Horch, ‘Distinctive Features’, 113–8; cf. Mullin, Hardy, and Sutton, Sport Marketing.

¹⁴ Girginov, Papadimitriou, and López de d'Amico, ‘Cultural Orientations of Sport Managers’, 36–42.

¹⁵ Cf. Hampden-Turner and Trompenaars, Building Cross-Cultural Competence.

¹⁶ Hofstede, Culture's Consequences.

¹⁷ Cf. Hofstede, ‘National Cultures in Four Dimensions’; Hofstede, ‘National Cultures Revisited’; Morden, ‘Models of National Cultures’.

¹⁸ Cf. DeSensi, ‘Multiculturalism as an Issue’; DeSensi, ‘Understanding Multiculturalism’; Doherty and Chelladurai, ‘Managing Cultural Diversity’; Girginov, Papadimitriou, and López de d'Amico, ‘Cultural Orientations of Sport Managers’.

¹⁹ Girginov, Papadimitriou, and López de d'Amico, ‘Cultural Orientations of Sport Managers’, 36.

²⁰ Ibid.

²¹ Cf. Hansen, Die Mentalität des Erwerbs; Horch, Strukturbesonderheiten freiwilliger Vereinigungen; Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung; Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft; Wex, Der Nonprofit-Sektor der Organisationsgesellschaft.

²² Hansen, Die Mentalität des Erwerbs.

²³ Weber, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft.

²⁴ Horch, Strukturbesonderheiten freiwilliger Vereinigungen.

²⁵ Wex, Der Nonprofit-Sektor der Organisationsgesellschaft, 28.

²⁶ Cf. Kaiser, Engel, and Keiner, ‘Structure-Dimensional Analysis’.

²⁷ Jung et al., ‘Instruments for Exploring Organizational Culture’.

²⁸ Ibid., 1087; Cf. Sewell, ‘The Concept(s) of Culture’.

²⁹ Jung et al., ‘Instruments for Exploring Organizational Culture’, 1089.

³⁰ Cf. Hofstede, Culture's Consequences; Cochran, ‘An Instrument Measuring Organizational Culture’; Sridhar, Gudmundson and Feinauer, ‘Cultural Assessment’.

³¹ Cf. Deal and Kennedy, Corporate Cultures.

³² Jung et al., ‘Instruments for Exploring Organizational Culture’, 1092.

³³ Ibid.

³⁴ Sridhar, Gudmundson, and Feinauer, ‘Cultural Assessment’.

³⁵ O'Reilly, Chatman, and Caldwell, ‘People and Organisational Culture’.

³⁶ Horch, Niessen, and Schütte, Sportmanager in Verbänden und Vereinen; Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung.

³⁷ Fayol, Administration industrielle et générale.

³⁸ Scherm and Pietsch, Organisation. Theorie, Gestaltung, Wandel, 66.

³⁹ Meyer and Rowan, Institutionalized Organisations: Formal Structure as Myth and Ceremony; Zucker, The Role of Institutionalisation in Cultural Persistence; DiMaggio and Powell, The Iron Cage Revisited: Institutional Isomorphism and Collective Rationality in Organisational Fields.

⁴⁰ Ibid., 67.

⁴¹ Powell, The New Institutionalism, 1.

⁴² Scherm and Pietsch, Organisation. Theorie, Gestaltung, Wandel, 66.

⁴³ Meyer and Rowan, ‘Institutionalized Organizations’.

⁴⁴ Powell, The New Institutionalism, 1.

⁴⁵ DiMaggio and Powell, ‘The Iron Cage Revisited’, 63/64.

⁴⁶ Meyer and Rowan, ‘Institutionalized Organizations’.

⁴⁷ Scherm and Pietsch, Organisation. Theorie, Gestaltung, Wandel, 69.

⁴⁸ Ibid., 71.

⁴⁹ DiMaggio and Powell, ‘The Iron Cage Revisited’.

⁵⁰ Cf. Bourdieu and Wacquant, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology.

⁵¹ Powell, The New Institutionalism, 3.

⁵² DiMaggio and Powell, ‘The Iron Cage Revisited’, 150.

⁵³ Ibid., 150–7.

⁵⁴ Powell, The New Institutionalism, 2.

⁵⁵ Scherm and Pietsch, Organisation. Theorie, Gestaltung, Wandel, 72.

⁵⁶ Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung.

⁵⁷ Cf. Kaiser, ‘Competence Research in Sport Management’, 259.

⁵⁸ Scherm and Pietsch, Organisation. Theorie, Gestaltung, Wandel, 73.

⁵⁹ Ibid.

⁶⁰ Cf. Horch and Schütte, Kommunale Sportverwaltung; Horch and Schütte, ‘Competencies of Sport Managers’; Horch, Niessen, and Schütte, Sportmanager in Verbänden und Vereinen; Hovemann, Kaiser, and Schütte, Der Sporteventmanager; Kaiser,‘Competence Research in Sport Management’; Kaiser, Das Sportstudiomanagement.

⁶¹ Sridhar, Gudmundson, and Feinauer, ‘Cultural Assessment’; cf. Macintosh and Doherty, ‘Leader Intensions and Employee Perceptions’.