Determinants of non-profit sports clubs’ perceived competition from commercial sports providers

Highlights

•	Competition is investigated from the perspective of non-profit sports clubs.
•	The majority of non-profit sports clubs report to be unaffected by competition from commercial sports providers.
•	Especially clubs offering health sports see themselves in competition to commercial sports providers.
•	Competition can present clubs with challenges in terms of price and costs for instructors.
•	Organizational characteristics need to be considered in analyzing strategies in the non-profit sports market.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate if non-profit sports clubs are affected by the growth of the commercial market and, if so, which clubs are affected and why. The authors employed a mixed-method design, collecting quantitative data from a sample of 4456 non-profit sports clubs in Germany and then conducting a follow-up qualitative study including semi-structured interviews with 6 sports clubs. Descriptive results showed that 35.3% of clubs perceived competition from commercial sports providers as a problem. The logistic regression analysis revealed that clubs offering sports for health and fitness, rehabilitation sports, martial arts, and dancing are more likely to perceive competition as a problem. Clubs aiming at social integration are also more likely to report a problem, while clubs following a strategic management approach are less likely to be affected by competition. The interviews unveiled that the reasons for competition are the different types of sports offered, financial aspects, characteristics of clubs, and markets. The findings suggest that organizational characteristics and types of sports offered are better suited as strategic group variables in the sports market than organizational strategies. Measures to counteract competition include the use of strategic management principles, cooperative relationships with commercial providers, and quality and specialization of services.

Keywords:

• Non-profit sports organizations
• Mass sports market
• Strategic groups
• Strategic management
• Mixed methods

Acknowledgements

This work was published in the scope of the project Sport Development Report (Grant number IIA1-081801/11-17), funded by the Federal Institute for Sports Sciences (BISp), the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), and the 16 federal State Sports Confederations (LSBs).