Community sports clubs' responses to institutional and resource dependence pressures for government grants

Abstract

The convergence of institutional processes and resource dependence perspectives stresses the notion that organizations choose strategies that address pressures from both their exchange and the institutional environments. Community sports clubs often resort to government grants to offer their member services. This paper examines the processes involved in seeking government grants with the aim of optimizing sports clubs' chances of successfully attracting government grants. Interviews with representatives of 18 sports clubs on the Gold Coast (Australia) show lack of awareness about available funding, uncertainty about the process involved and an overall reluctance to apply. The strategic responses to institutional processes identified are acquiescence and compromise, suggesting that sports clubs chose a passive or the least active forms of response. Some sports clubs have increased their dependence on external consultants to develop the strategic plans which are required for grants. Recommendations for club management are discussed.

Keywords:

• community sports club
• government funding
• grants
• institutional processes theory
• resource dependence theory
• club development

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Glen Tunks and Tassie Williams for collecting the data for this study and the Centre for Tourism, Sport and Service Research for its financial support.

Notes on contributors

Popi Sotiriadou is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Tourism, Sport and Hotel Management at the Griffith Business School in Australia. Her research focuses on club and sport development processes, athlete development and sport policy. Popi collaborates with researchers in the areas of elite sport policy, managing high-performance sport and the trickle-down effects of sports and events.

Pamela Wicker is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sport Economics and Sport Management at the German Sport University Cologne where she obtained a Ph.D. in 2009. Her main research interests include the development of non-profit sport clubs, financing sport, and economics of sport consumer behaviour.

Notes

1. The Gold Coast Baseball Association is one example where a club chose the name association although it is a club.