Professionalisation, sport governance and strategic capability

Abstract

Sport governance research is growing in volume and routinely highlights the tension between volunteers and paid professionals in relation to shared leadership, board motivations, and board structures and performance. Using governance as the lens through which progress is viewed, this paper demonstrates sport's transition from an amateur, volunteer-driven pastime to a more business-like sector. Empirically derived data, from a larger action research study examining the strategic capability of New Zealand national sport organisation boards, are integrated with prior research and theoretical developments to exemplify the state of sport governance theory and the sector generally. Outcomes from the review of sport governance research, combined with a selection of results from the study of strategic capability, highlight the challenges associated with volunteer board engagement, given the increasing demands for strategic thinking and action, while also balancing this task with the conformance, policy and operation roles.

Keywords:

• volunteers
• sport management
• governance
• strategy
• non-profit