Brand governance practices in Canadian national sport organizations: an exploratory study

ABSTRACT

Research Questions: We explored if and how decision-makers of different types of national sport organizations (NSOs) govern their brand, considering the changing landscape and the role of stakeholders and social media. The three research questions were: (RQ1) Do leaders of NSOs include brand governance in their overall governance?; (RQ2) How important is the relationship between the NSOs and their stakeholders for NSOs’ brand governance?; (RQ3) How does social media contribute to NSOs’ brand governance?

Research methods: Thirty-two chief executive officers (CEOs) and/or board members of 58 Canadian NSOs (RR = 55%) participated in an online survey. Data were collected about brand governance in the organization (8 questions), the interrelationship with stakeholders (4 questions), and the role of social media in brand governance (4 questions).

Results and findings: Brand governance is absent in small NSOs, and in early stages of application by larger NSOs. NSOs deal with their brand primarily internally, with no operational involvement of stakeholders, missing opportunities for possible knowledge transfer and co-creation to help NSOs govern their brand. Social media is a cost-efficient way to brand the organization, but a lack of control and consistency indicates a need for brand governance related to social media.

Implications: NSOs would benefit from actively involving stakeholders to co-create and strengthen their brand. Social media offers opportunities for branding, but governance regulations should help overcome major challenges. Future research should include interviews with NSOs’ decision-makers to further understand how NSOs can engage more meaningfully with stakeholders and social media to strengthen their brand governance.

KEYWORDS:

• Co-creation
• online survey
• social media
• stakeholders
• organizational taxonomy

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors .

ORCID

Marijke Taks http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5186-8537

Benoit Seguin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4988-0470

Michael L. Naraine http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9132-1269

Ashley Thompson http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4868-0482

Milena M. Parent http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8789-3523

Russell Hoye http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9000-1848

Notes

1 Only one participant did ask for clarifications, but not for any of the questions considered in this manuscript.

2 The survey as a whole transcended brand governance and included: (1) baseline information of the NSOs (e.g., number of staff and budget); (2) governance and stakeholder relationships (e.g., communication with stakeholders and accountability); and, (3) branding and social media. It took about one hour to complete. This contribution reports on the brand governance section.

3 Given the exploratory nature of the study, we did not elaborate on the different types of social media as it pertained to brand governance. In generic terms, we refer to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (e.g., Naraine & Karg, 2019).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and Sport Canada [Grant Number 435-2017-0247].