Executive summary: The next decade has been described by the government as a ‘golden decade for s... more Executive summary: The next decade has been described by the government as a ‘golden decade for sport’ due to the variety of internat ional sport events that the UK is due to host. These include mega events such as the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, major events such as the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and a large number of major showcase sport events including the World Squash Championships and the World Modern Pentathlon Championships. The UK is considered to be one of the le ading nations in the sport event market and sport governing bo dies (NGBs) in the UK maintain a strong reputation for stagi ng well-organised sport event s. However, bidding for the rights to host mega sport event s, one-off events, and international showcase sport events has become more competitive over the last decade. There is a need to address the issues that NGBs face when bidding to host international sport events to ensure that the UK remains a competitive venue for sport e...
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2019
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the Salary ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the Salary Cost Management Protocol, a form of financial regulation introduced by the English Football League in 2004 to improve the financial sustainability of professional football (i.e. soccer) clubs. Design/methodology/approach The analytical approach is to assess the effect of the regulation from evidence of change in measures of the financial performance of clubs drawing on three criteria: profitability, liquidity and solvency. A unique database was created from the published financial statements and notes to the accounts of the clubs in the Tier 4 league (known since 2004 as League Two) from 1994 to 2014 to encapsulate the 10-year period before and after the regulation was introduced. To show trends in the data within the study period, the data are reported in graphical form. The statistical significance of change in both the slope and intercepts for trends between breaks of interest in the ...
Sport has embraced social media, intensifying the (online) coverage of sport organizations and at... more Sport has embraced social media, intensifying the (online) coverage of sport organizations and athletes. Until now, the role that social media has played in the renaissance of public shaming in sport has received little attention. To address this gap, the authors present a novel case study of a public, online shaming campaign against an English Premier League football club by one of their own supporters. Data were collected from multiple sources, including online sources and organizational documents that informed both the creation of semi-structured interviews and the development of a process model of public, online shaming. Findings reveal how a supporter query was mishandled by the club. In response, the supporter turned-activist launched a low-scale online shaming campaign about disability discrimination. The campaign escalated in profile to gain national media attention. Within the framework of Online Reputation Management, the authors present the organizational response that sought to bolster the club's reputation by deploying a series of internal and external responses. The authors conclude that to minimize the potentially negative effects of public shaming in sport, sports organizations should implement specific reputation management practices but ones that monitor online sources for potential issues and crises.
Accountability is a crucial element of governance. Nonprofit organizations are typically accounta... more Accountability is a crucial element of governance. Nonprofit organizations are typically accountable to multiple stakeholders and often “do” accountability in multiple ways. But what happens when a nonprofit organization is highly dependent on a single source of funding? This article provides an empirical exploration of this issue. It draws on a longitudinal case study of one nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom that is highly dependent on a single funder to examine how accountability is constructed and enacted, with a focus on the board. It critically examines accountability processes through direct observation of board and committee meetings and in-depth interviews with board members. The analysis shows how board members work to construct broader forms of accountability beyond accountability to the funder, but then struggle to enact them. This article provides in-depth insight into the challenges that nonprofit board members face and offers a rare example of observational ...
Geoff completed a BSc in Management at Lancaster University and an MA in Labour Studies at the Un... more Geoff completed a BSc in Management at Lancaster University and an MA in Labour Studies at the University of Manchester before joining the Football Governance Research Centre at Birkbeck in 2003 as a Research Officer. He was involved in four annual State of the Game publications that evaluated standards of corporate governance in the football industry. Geoff received a three-year PhD scholarship from the Economic and Social Research Council in 2004 to undertake a stakeholder analysis of the football industry. He was awarded his PhD in 2007 before joining the Department of Management at Birkbeck as a lecturer. His main research interests are corporate social responsibility in sport and governance and regulation in sport.
Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisa... more Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisations become increasingly influential members of the global community, so it has become more important than ever for sport to consider its wider social responsibilities. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is the first book to offer a comprehensive survey of theories and concepts of CSR as applied to sport, and the social, ethical and environmental aspects of sport business and management. It offers an overview of perspectives and approaches to CSR in sport, examines the unique features of the sport industry in relation to CSR, explores the tools, models, common pitfalls and examples of best practice on which managers can draw, and discusses how CSR and corporate citizenship can be integrated into the sport management curriculum. The book covers every key issue and functional area, including implementation, strategic benefits, communication and corporate image, stakeholder engagement, and the measurement and evaluation of CSR policies and practices, and includes detailed international case studies, from the NBA and the Olympic Games to Japanese soccer. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is important reading for any student, researcher, manager or policy maker with an interest in sport business, management, ethics or development.
Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility, 2012
Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisa... more Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisations become increasingly influential members of the global community, so it has become more important than ever for sport to consider its wider social responsibilities. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is the first book to offer a comprehensive survey of theories and concepts of CSR as applied to sport, and the social, ethical and environmental aspects of sport business and management. It offers an overview of perspectives and approaches to CSR in sport, examines the unique features of the sport industry in relation to CSR, explores the tools, models, common pitfalls and examples of best practice on which managers can draw, and discusses how CSR and corporate citizenship can be integrated into the sport management curriculum. The book covers every key issue and functional area, including implementation, strategic benefits, communication and corporate image, stakeholder engagement, and the measurement and evaluation of CSR policies and practices, and includes detailed international case studies, from the NBA and the Olympic Games to Japanese soccer. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is important reading for any student, researcher, manager or policy maker with an interest in sport business, management, ethics or development.
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2012
The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instab... more The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instability for many third sector organisations. In a shifting funding landscape, it is clear that an over-reliance on Government funding is a risky strategy and that there is a need to diversify and seek out alternative sources of revenue. This article considers the impact of political change on the financial sustainability of community sports trusts associated with Premier League and Football League clubs in England. It explores sources of revenue through the analysis of financial statements, revealing that on average community sports trusts receive a significant proportion of income from grant funding whilst sponsorship income is relatively small. The article goes on to discuss the potential for community sports trusts to diversify revenue streams by developing social partnerships that address the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas of commercial organisations. It illustrates that although commercial sponsorship can provide benefits including the provision of additional funding that can enable financial stability, key issues include the balance of power, the impact on organisational flexibility, whether there is a need to restructure, and the development of long-term partnerships. Although the findings from this article are focused on a particular type of charity, given the importance of CSR partnership income for the charities sector they may also have broader implications for other charitable organisations.RésuméLe changement de direction politique au Royaume-Uni en 2010 a suscité une incertitude et une instabilité financière pour de nombreuses organisations du secteur tertiaire. Dans un contexte marqué par un financement aléatoire, il est clair qu’une dépendance excessive à l’égard du financement gouvernemental est une stratégie risquée et qu’un besoin se fait jour en faveur d’une diversification et d’une recherche de sources alternatives de revenu. Cet article examine l’impact de l’alternance politique sur la durabilité financière des trusts sportifs communautaires associés aux clubs de Première division et de Ligue de Football en Angleterre. Il explore leurs sources de revenus dans le cadre d’une analyse des états financiers, laquelle révèle qu’en moyenne les trust sportifs communautaires reçoivent une part significative de leurs revenus des subventions alors que le financement par parrainage est relativement modeste. L’article se poursuit par une discussion sur le potentiel des trusts sportifs communautaires en faveur d’une diversification des flux de revenus par le biais du développement de partenariats sociaux prenant en compte les objectifs de responsabilité sociale d’entreprise (corporate social responsibility - CSR) des organisations commerciales. Il met en évidence que bien que le parrainage commercial puisse présenter des avantages notamment l’apport d’un financement supplémentaire susceptible de permettre une stabilité financière, les questions clés comportent l’équilibre des pouvoirs, l’impact de la flexibilité organisationnelle, le besoin ou non d’une restructuration et le développement de partenariats à long terme. En dépit du fait que les conclusions de cet article soient consacrées à un type particulier d’organisation caritative, eu égard à l’importance des revenus du partenariat CSR pour le secteur caritatif, elles pourraient également avoir des implications plus vastes pour d’autres organisations caritatives.ZusammenfassungDie Änderung in der politischen Führung Großbritanniens im Jahr 2010 brachte vielen Organisationen des dritten Sektors finanzielle Unsicherheit und Instabilität. In einer sich ändernden Finanzierungslandschaft ist eine allzu große Abhängigkeit von staatlicher Finanzierung eindeutig eine riskante Strategie, und es sollten auf jeden Fall verschiedene alternative Einnahmequellen ausgemacht werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag betrachtet die Auswirkungen der politischen Änderungen auf die finanzielle Nachhaltigkeit von Gemeindesportverbänden, die mit Vereinen der englischen Premier League und Football League verbunden sind. Die Einnahmequellen werden anhand von Finanzaufstellungen untersucht, wobei sich herausstellt, dass Zuschussförderungen im Durchschnitt einen Großteil der Einnahmen der Gemeindesportverbände ausmachen, während die Einnahmen aus Sponsorenschaften nur relativ gering sind. Der Beitrag diskutiert sodann das Potential für Gemeindesportverbände, ihre Einnahmequellen zu diversifizieren, indem sie soziale Partnerschaften entwickeln, die sich mit den Programmen gewerblicher Organisationen zur Corporate Social Responsibility, der unternehmerischen Gesellschaftsverantwortung, befassen. Es wird dargelegt, dass trotz möglicher Vorteile einer kommerziellen Sponsorenschaft, einschließlich der Bereitstellung zusätzlicher Gelder zur Förderung der finanziellen Stabilität, unter anderem das Gleichgewicht der Kräfte, die Auswirkungen auf die organisatorische Flexibilität,…
International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 2018
Austerity was the driving principle behind the UK Coalition Government Comprehensive Spending Rev... more Austerity was the driving principle behind the UK Coalition Government Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010, with local government facing a disproportionately high share of the spending cuts. Research has focused on the impact of 'austerity urbanism' (Peck, 2012; Watt and Minton, 2016) and urban regeneration (Dillon and Fanning, 2015; Pugalis, 2016), however there is relatively little focus on sports-led regeneration. This article presents case study research of the stadium-led regeneration project involving Tottenham Hotspur FC and the London Borough of Haringey, focusing on the community perceptions of urban regeneration. It has two aims: first, to understand the local authority's approach to regeneration in the context of the austerity agenda; and second, to understand how this approach was perceived by, and the impact on, those communities living within the geographical locality of the developments. Three themes emerged: first, that austerity led the local authority to adopt a pragmatic approach to regeneration; second, that regeneration in a period of austerity is perceived by local communities as a strategy of gentrification; and third, concerns over the lack of community consultation served as a stimulus for community engagement. Two implications arising from this research are that while community groups in Tottenham had limited success in gaining major changes to the stadium-led regeneration in Tottenham they have arguably been able to slow down the process. Moreover, they have been successful in bringing together diverse groups across the community to share knowledge in order to challenge further proposals from Haringey Council.
This Handbook draws together top international researchers and discusses the state of the art and... more This Handbook draws together top international researchers and discusses the state of the art and the future direction of research at the nexus between sport and business. It is heavily built upon choosing, applying and evaluating appropriate quantitative as well as qualitative research methods for practical advice in sport and business research.
Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society
Purpose This study aims to explain why organisations remain vulnerable to financial failure despi... more Purpose This study aims to explain why organisations remain vulnerable to financial failure despite increasing financial regulation to improve governance. Using a case study of gambling and regulation in professional football in England, it introduces the concept of “regulatory legitimacy” to show how this enables football clubs to gamble. Design/methodology/approach The study quantifies the extent to which football clubs in the Championship of the English Football League (EFL) adopt a conventionally economically irrational decision to run a loss-making budget in the hope of achieving sporting success. The study postulates criteria for evidence of this form of gambling by overspending on playing talent with data from the clubs’ published financial statements. A pay-off matrix is developed to compare the intended and actual outcomes. Findings The research finds that this strategy was both prevalent and the most successful to achieve promotion. Originality/value This study makes three...
European Academy of Management: Managing Sport General Track, Nov 1, 2020
Research has shown that for people with disabilities and older adults, there are substantial diff... more Research has shown that for people with disabilities and older adults, there are substantial differences in the supply side of accessible services and facilities, quality of service and experience at sport stadiums. This has led to increasing political, legal and social pressures on national governing bodies and professional football clubs to enhance accessibility, quality of service and experience for supporters with disabilities (SwD) and ageing supporters, described as the 'new generation of sport consumers' (reference withheld for anonymity). Sport management literature at present focuses primarily on regulatory pressures to ensure that stadia meet existing accessibility requirements, while at the same time most of the updated legislation and guidelines on access to stadia fail to incorporate the quality of service and experience for these supporter groups. Very few studies have sought to examine how professional football clubs seek to manage their human rights obligations and accessibility at contemporary stadia through policies and processes designed to cater to the needs and expectations to these groups of supporters. This study begins to address this research gap by setting out the process through which we have developed a theoretically informed, integrative managerial and performance measurement framework that seeks to measure the extent to which professional football club stadiums are accessible. We outline the three-step methodological process through which we have developed the European Accessible Football League Scale: a scale containing seventy-one brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Ulster University's Research Portal 2 indicators across five phases of the supporter experience that collectively provide the tool to better understand stadium accessibility within European football. These indicators were developed and selected from previous academic research practitioner reports and guides on accessibility at national and international level, ongoing exchange with an expert panel of several Disability Liaison officers and Access coordinators at the main football leagues, and integrated with the five phases of the Holistic Journey Sequence approach to stadia (the 'HOPES' model). This accessibility scale has managerial implications not only for the football industry but will also be applicable to other sporting venues and the events industry.
Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass particip... more Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass participatory practice run largely by volunteers and community organizations. This authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of sports management helps to explain the modern commercial environment that shapes sport at all levels and gives clear and sensible guidance on best practice in sports management, from elite sport to the local level. The book is divided into three sections. The first examines the global context for contemporary sports management. The second explores the key functional areas of management, from organization and strategy to finance and marketing, and explains how successful managerial techniques can be applied in a sporting context. The final section surveys a wide range of important issues in contemporary sports management, from corporate social responsibility to the use of information and communication technologies. Together, these sections p...
Book synopsis: Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and ... more Book synopsis: Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass participatory practice run largely by volunteers and community organizations. This authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of sports management helps to explain the modern commercial environment that shapes sport at all levels and gives clear and sensible guidance on best practice in sports management, from elite sport to the local level. The book is divided into three sections. The first examines the global context for contemporary sports management. The second explores the key functional areas of management, from organization and strategy to finance and marketing, and explains how successful managerial techniques can be applied in a sporting context. The final section surveys a wide range of important issues in contemporary sports management, from corporate social responsibility to the use of information and communication technologies. Together, t...
Supporter directors (SD) are individuals elected to a sport organisation's board to represent the... more Supporter directors (SD) are individuals elected to a sport organisation's board to represent the interests of its supporters. Although their inclusion on boards is widely considered to be good ethical practice, recent research shows that SDs face distinct challenges that often inhibit them from performing effectively. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how SDs can overcome these challenges by, firstly, generating a deeper understanding of the roles of SDs in Scottish football clubs and, secondly, analysing how board-level social interaction influences SD role performance. The research method consisted of 17 interviews with individuals who are currently serving, or have previously served, as SDs on Scottish football club boards. The findings show that SDs perceive their role to encompass three elements: (1) promoting supporters' interests in board meetings, (2) acting as a conduit of information, and (3) complying with their fiduciary duties. Drawing on social exchange theory, the findings then revealed a perception among SDs that successful performance of those roles is dependent on their ability to initiate and sustain patterns of reciprocal social exchange with their board colleagues. The research provides practical recommendations for SDs and other types of stakeholder representatives on how to improve their performance.
1. Research question: Codes of governance have proliferated in recent years, yet academic researc... more 1. Research question: Codes of governance have proliferated in recent years, yet academic research on why boards adopt and implement codes remains limited. This research focuses on the non-profit sport sector in the UK and looks at why codes have been adopted by a board of a non-profit sport organisation. 2. Research methods: The research draws on a longitudinal case study of board processes in a national governing body of sport in the UK, drawing on non-participant observation of board and committee meetings, interviews and document analysis. 3. Results and Findings: We identify that the initial adoption of a code of governance is a way to create external legitimacy. Once adopted, a code of governance can strengthen internal legitimacy and reinforce board members' perceptions that the board is well governed. These two processes of legitimising are mutually reinforcing, serving to ensure that codes of governance become institutionalised at the board level. At the same time, while codes typically emphasise the importance of board members making autonomous decisions, in our case board members perceived that codes often constrained board autonomy. 4. Implications: This is the first article to provide an 'insider', board-level perspective on code adoption in the non-profit sport sector. It also enhances debate on the role of legitimacy in code adoption, by distinguishing between external legitimising as a formal, impersonal process, and internal legitimising, which typically unfolds through discussion, negotiation and reflection.
Executive summary: The next decade has been described by the government as a ‘golden decade for s... more Executive summary: The next decade has been described by the government as a ‘golden decade for sport’ due to the variety of internat ional sport events that the UK is due to host. These include mega events such as the London 2012 Olympics and the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, major events such as the 2019 Cricket World Cup, and a large number of major showcase sport events including the World Squash Championships and the World Modern Pentathlon Championships. The UK is considered to be one of the le ading nations in the sport event market and sport governing bo dies (NGBs) in the UK maintain a strong reputation for stagi ng well-organised sport event s. However, bidding for the rights to host mega sport event s, one-off events, and international showcase sport events has become more competitive over the last decade. There is a need to address the issues that NGBs face when bidding to host international sport events to ensure that the UK remains a competitive venue for sport e...
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2019
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the Salary ... more Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide an assessment of the effectiveness of the Salary Cost Management Protocol, a form of financial regulation introduced by the English Football League in 2004 to improve the financial sustainability of professional football (i.e. soccer) clubs. Design/methodology/approach The analytical approach is to assess the effect of the regulation from evidence of change in measures of the financial performance of clubs drawing on three criteria: profitability, liquidity and solvency. A unique database was created from the published financial statements and notes to the accounts of the clubs in the Tier 4 league (known since 2004 as League Two) from 1994 to 2014 to encapsulate the 10-year period before and after the regulation was introduced. To show trends in the data within the study period, the data are reported in graphical form. The statistical significance of change in both the slope and intercepts for trends between breaks of interest in the ...
Sport has embraced social media, intensifying the (online) coverage of sport organizations and at... more Sport has embraced social media, intensifying the (online) coverage of sport organizations and athletes. Until now, the role that social media has played in the renaissance of public shaming in sport has received little attention. To address this gap, the authors present a novel case study of a public, online shaming campaign against an English Premier League football club by one of their own supporters. Data were collected from multiple sources, including online sources and organizational documents that informed both the creation of semi-structured interviews and the development of a process model of public, online shaming. Findings reveal how a supporter query was mishandled by the club. In response, the supporter turned-activist launched a low-scale online shaming campaign about disability discrimination. The campaign escalated in profile to gain national media attention. Within the framework of Online Reputation Management, the authors present the organizational response that sought to bolster the club's reputation by deploying a series of internal and external responses. The authors conclude that to minimize the potentially negative effects of public shaming in sport, sports organizations should implement specific reputation management practices but ones that monitor online sources for potential issues and crises.
Accountability is a crucial element of governance. Nonprofit organizations are typically accounta... more Accountability is a crucial element of governance. Nonprofit organizations are typically accountable to multiple stakeholders and often “do” accountability in multiple ways. But what happens when a nonprofit organization is highly dependent on a single source of funding? This article provides an empirical exploration of this issue. It draws on a longitudinal case study of one nonprofit organization in the United Kingdom that is highly dependent on a single funder to examine how accountability is constructed and enacted, with a focus on the board. It critically examines accountability processes through direct observation of board and committee meetings and in-depth interviews with board members. The analysis shows how board members work to construct broader forms of accountability beyond accountability to the funder, but then struggle to enact them. This article provides in-depth insight into the challenges that nonprofit board members face and offers a rare example of observational ...
Geoff completed a BSc in Management at Lancaster University and an MA in Labour Studies at the Un... more Geoff completed a BSc in Management at Lancaster University and an MA in Labour Studies at the University of Manchester before joining the Football Governance Research Centre at Birkbeck in 2003 as a Research Officer. He was involved in four annual State of the Game publications that evaluated standards of corporate governance in the football industry. Geoff received a three-year PhD scholarship from the Economic and Social Research Council in 2004 to undertake a stakeholder analysis of the football industry. He was awarded his PhD in 2007 before joining the Department of Management at Birkbeck as a lecturer. His main research interests are corporate social responsibility in sport and governance and regulation in sport.
Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisa... more Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisations become increasingly influential members of the global community, so it has become more important than ever for sport to consider its wider social responsibilities. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is the first book to offer a comprehensive survey of theories and concepts of CSR as applied to sport, and the social, ethical and environmental aspects of sport business and management. It offers an overview of perspectives and approaches to CSR in sport, examines the unique features of the sport industry in relation to CSR, explores the tools, models, common pitfalls and examples of best practice on which managers can draw, and discusses how CSR and corporate citizenship can be integrated into the sport management curriculum. The book covers every key issue and functional area, including implementation, strategic benefits, communication and corporate image, stakeholder engagement, and the measurement and evaluation of CSR policies and practices, and includes detailed international case studies, from the NBA and the Olympic Games to Japanese soccer. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is important reading for any student, researcher, manager or policy maker with an interest in sport business, management, ethics or development.
Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility, 2012
Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisa... more Book synopsis: As the role of sport in society becomes ever more prominent and as sports organisations become increasingly influential members of the global community, so it has become more important than ever for sport to consider its wider social responsibilities. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is the first book to offer a comprehensive survey of theories and concepts of CSR as applied to sport, and the social, ethical and environmental aspects of sport business and management. It offers an overview of perspectives and approaches to CSR in sport, examines the unique features of the sport industry in relation to CSR, explores the tools, models, common pitfalls and examples of best practice on which managers can draw, and discusses how CSR and corporate citizenship can be integrated into the sport management curriculum. The book covers every key issue and functional area, including implementation, strategic benefits, communication and corporate image, stakeholder engagement, and the measurement and evaluation of CSR policies and practices, and includes detailed international case studies, from the NBA and the Olympic Games to Japanese soccer. The Routledge Handbook of Sport and Corporate Social Responsibility is important reading for any student, researcher, manager or policy maker with an interest in sport business, management, ethics or development.
VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 2012
The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instab... more The change in political leadership in the UK in 2010 has created financial uncertainty and instability for many third sector organisations. In a shifting funding landscape, it is clear that an over-reliance on Government funding is a risky strategy and that there is a need to diversify and seek out alternative sources of revenue. This article considers the impact of political change on the financial sustainability of community sports trusts associated with Premier League and Football League clubs in England. It explores sources of revenue through the analysis of financial statements, revealing that on average community sports trusts receive a significant proportion of income from grant funding whilst sponsorship income is relatively small. The article goes on to discuss the potential for community sports trusts to diversify revenue streams by developing social partnerships that address the corporate social responsibility (CSR) agendas of commercial organisations. It illustrates that although commercial sponsorship can provide benefits including the provision of additional funding that can enable financial stability, key issues include the balance of power, the impact on organisational flexibility, whether there is a need to restructure, and the development of long-term partnerships. Although the findings from this article are focused on a particular type of charity, given the importance of CSR partnership income for the charities sector they may also have broader implications for other charitable organisations.RésuméLe changement de direction politique au Royaume-Uni en 2010 a suscité une incertitude et une instabilité financière pour de nombreuses organisations du secteur tertiaire. Dans un contexte marqué par un financement aléatoire, il est clair qu’une dépendance excessive à l’égard du financement gouvernemental est une stratégie risquée et qu’un besoin se fait jour en faveur d’une diversification et d’une recherche de sources alternatives de revenu. Cet article examine l’impact de l’alternance politique sur la durabilité financière des trusts sportifs communautaires associés aux clubs de Première division et de Ligue de Football en Angleterre. Il explore leurs sources de revenus dans le cadre d’une analyse des états financiers, laquelle révèle qu’en moyenne les trust sportifs communautaires reçoivent une part significative de leurs revenus des subventions alors que le financement par parrainage est relativement modeste. L’article se poursuit par une discussion sur le potentiel des trusts sportifs communautaires en faveur d’une diversification des flux de revenus par le biais du développement de partenariats sociaux prenant en compte les objectifs de responsabilité sociale d’entreprise (corporate social responsibility - CSR) des organisations commerciales. Il met en évidence que bien que le parrainage commercial puisse présenter des avantages notamment l’apport d’un financement supplémentaire susceptible de permettre une stabilité financière, les questions clés comportent l’équilibre des pouvoirs, l’impact de la flexibilité organisationnelle, le besoin ou non d’une restructuration et le développement de partenariats à long terme. En dépit du fait que les conclusions de cet article soient consacrées à un type particulier d’organisation caritative, eu égard à l’importance des revenus du partenariat CSR pour le secteur caritatif, elles pourraient également avoir des implications plus vastes pour d’autres organisations caritatives.ZusammenfassungDie Änderung in der politischen Führung Großbritanniens im Jahr 2010 brachte vielen Organisationen des dritten Sektors finanzielle Unsicherheit und Instabilität. In einer sich ändernden Finanzierungslandschaft ist eine allzu große Abhängigkeit von staatlicher Finanzierung eindeutig eine riskante Strategie, und es sollten auf jeden Fall verschiedene alternative Einnahmequellen ausgemacht werden. Der vorliegende Beitrag betrachtet die Auswirkungen der politischen Änderungen auf die finanzielle Nachhaltigkeit von Gemeindesportverbänden, die mit Vereinen der englischen Premier League und Football League verbunden sind. Die Einnahmequellen werden anhand von Finanzaufstellungen untersucht, wobei sich herausstellt, dass Zuschussförderungen im Durchschnitt einen Großteil der Einnahmen der Gemeindesportverbände ausmachen, während die Einnahmen aus Sponsorenschaften nur relativ gering sind. Der Beitrag diskutiert sodann das Potential für Gemeindesportverbände, ihre Einnahmequellen zu diversifizieren, indem sie soziale Partnerschaften entwickeln, die sich mit den Programmen gewerblicher Organisationen zur Corporate Social Responsibility, der unternehmerischen Gesellschaftsverantwortung, befassen. Es wird dargelegt, dass trotz möglicher Vorteile einer kommerziellen Sponsorenschaft, einschließlich der Bereitstellung zusätzlicher Gelder zur Förderung der finanziellen Stabilität, unter anderem das Gleichgewicht der Kräfte, die Auswirkungen auf die organisatorische Flexibilität,…
International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 2018
Austerity was the driving principle behind the UK Coalition Government Comprehensive Spending Rev... more Austerity was the driving principle behind the UK Coalition Government Comprehensive Spending Review in October 2010, with local government facing a disproportionately high share of the spending cuts. Research has focused on the impact of 'austerity urbanism' (Peck, 2012; Watt and Minton, 2016) and urban regeneration (Dillon and Fanning, 2015; Pugalis, 2016), however there is relatively little focus on sports-led regeneration. This article presents case study research of the stadium-led regeneration project involving Tottenham Hotspur FC and the London Borough of Haringey, focusing on the community perceptions of urban regeneration. It has two aims: first, to understand the local authority's approach to regeneration in the context of the austerity agenda; and second, to understand how this approach was perceived by, and the impact on, those communities living within the geographical locality of the developments. Three themes emerged: first, that austerity led the local authority to adopt a pragmatic approach to regeneration; second, that regeneration in a period of austerity is perceived by local communities as a strategy of gentrification; and third, concerns over the lack of community consultation served as a stimulus for community engagement. Two implications arising from this research are that while community groups in Tottenham had limited success in gaining major changes to the stadium-led regeneration in Tottenham they have arguably been able to slow down the process. Moreover, they have been successful in bringing together diverse groups across the community to share knowledge in order to challenge further proposals from Haringey Council.
This Handbook draws together top international researchers and discusses the state of the art and... more This Handbook draws together top international researchers and discusses the state of the art and the future direction of research at the nexus between sport and business. It is heavily built upon choosing, applying and evaluating appropriate quantitative as well as qualitative research methods for practical advice in sport and business research.
Corporate Governance: The International Journal of Business in Society
Purpose This study aims to explain why organisations remain vulnerable to financial failure despi... more Purpose This study aims to explain why organisations remain vulnerable to financial failure despite increasing financial regulation to improve governance. Using a case study of gambling and regulation in professional football in England, it introduces the concept of “regulatory legitimacy” to show how this enables football clubs to gamble. Design/methodology/approach The study quantifies the extent to which football clubs in the Championship of the English Football League (EFL) adopt a conventionally economically irrational decision to run a loss-making budget in the hope of achieving sporting success. The study postulates criteria for evidence of this form of gambling by overspending on playing talent with data from the clubs’ published financial statements. A pay-off matrix is developed to compare the intended and actual outcomes. Findings The research finds that this strategy was both prevalent and the most successful to achieve promotion. Originality/value This study makes three...
European Academy of Management: Managing Sport General Track, Nov 1, 2020
Research has shown that for people with disabilities and older adults, there are substantial diff... more Research has shown that for people with disabilities and older adults, there are substantial differences in the supply side of accessible services and facilities, quality of service and experience at sport stadiums. This has led to increasing political, legal and social pressures on national governing bodies and professional football clubs to enhance accessibility, quality of service and experience for supporters with disabilities (SwD) and ageing supporters, described as the 'new generation of sport consumers' (reference withheld for anonymity). Sport management literature at present focuses primarily on regulatory pressures to ensure that stadia meet existing accessibility requirements, while at the same time most of the updated legislation and guidelines on access to stadia fail to incorporate the quality of service and experience for these supporter groups. Very few studies have sought to examine how professional football clubs seek to manage their human rights obligations and accessibility at contemporary stadia through policies and processes designed to cater to the needs and expectations to these groups of supporters. This study begins to address this research gap by setting out the process through which we have developed a theoretically informed, integrative managerial and performance measurement framework that seeks to measure the extent to which professional football club stadiums are accessible. We outline the three-step methodological process through which we have developed the European Accessible Football League Scale: a scale containing seventy-one brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Ulster University's Research Portal 2 indicators across five phases of the supporter experience that collectively provide the tool to better understand stadium accessibility within European football. These indicators were developed and selected from previous academic research practitioner reports and guides on accessibility at national and international level, ongoing exchange with an expert panel of several Disability Liaison officers and Access coordinators at the main football leagues, and integrated with the five phases of the Holistic Journey Sequence approach to stadia (the 'HOPES' model). This accessibility scale has managerial implications not only for the football industry but will also be applicable to other sporting venues and the events industry.
Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass particip... more Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass participatory practice run largely by volunteers and community organizations. This authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of sports management helps to explain the modern commercial environment that shapes sport at all levels and gives clear and sensible guidance on best practice in sports management, from elite sport to the local level. The book is divided into three sections. The first examines the global context for contemporary sports management. The second explores the key functional areas of management, from organization and strategy to finance and marketing, and explains how successful managerial techniques can be applied in a sporting context. The final section surveys a wide range of important issues in contemporary sports management, from corporate social responsibility to the use of information and communication technologies. Together, these sections p...
Book synopsis: Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and ... more Book synopsis: Contemporary sport is both a sophisticated and complex international business and a mass participatory practice run largely by volunteers and community organizations. This authoritative and comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of sports management helps to explain the modern commercial environment that shapes sport at all levels and gives clear and sensible guidance on best practice in sports management, from elite sport to the local level. The book is divided into three sections. The first examines the global context for contemporary sports management. The second explores the key functional areas of management, from organization and strategy to finance and marketing, and explains how successful managerial techniques can be applied in a sporting context. The final section surveys a wide range of important issues in contemporary sports management, from corporate social responsibility to the use of information and communication technologies. Together, t...
Supporter directors (SD) are individuals elected to a sport organisation's board to represent the... more Supporter directors (SD) are individuals elected to a sport organisation's board to represent the interests of its supporters. Although their inclusion on boards is widely considered to be good ethical practice, recent research shows that SDs face distinct challenges that often inhibit them from performing effectively. The purpose of this study was to illuminate how SDs can overcome these challenges by, firstly, generating a deeper understanding of the roles of SDs in Scottish football clubs and, secondly, analysing how board-level social interaction influences SD role performance. The research method consisted of 17 interviews with individuals who are currently serving, or have previously served, as SDs on Scottish football club boards. The findings show that SDs perceive their role to encompass three elements: (1) promoting supporters' interests in board meetings, (2) acting as a conduit of information, and (3) complying with their fiduciary duties. Drawing on social exchange theory, the findings then revealed a perception among SDs that successful performance of those roles is dependent on their ability to initiate and sustain patterns of reciprocal social exchange with their board colleagues. The research provides practical recommendations for SDs and other types of stakeholder representatives on how to improve their performance.
1. Research question: Codes of governance have proliferated in recent years, yet academic researc... more 1. Research question: Codes of governance have proliferated in recent years, yet academic research on why boards adopt and implement codes remains limited. This research focuses on the non-profit sport sector in the UK and looks at why codes have been adopted by a board of a non-profit sport organisation. 2. Research methods: The research draws on a longitudinal case study of board processes in a national governing body of sport in the UK, drawing on non-participant observation of board and committee meetings, interviews and document analysis. 3. Results and Findings: We identify that the initial adoption of a code of governance is a way to create external legitimacy. Once adopted, a code of governance can strengthen internal legitimacy and reinforce board members' perceptions that the board is well governed. These two processes of legitimising are mutually reinforcing, serving to ensure that codes of governance become institutionalised at the board level. At the same time, while codes typically emphasise the importance of board members making autonomous decisions, in our case board members perceived that codes often constrained board autonomy. 4. Implications: This is the first article to provide an 'insider', board-level perspective on code adoption in the non-profit sport sector. It also enhances debate on the role of legitimacy in code adoption, by distinguishing between external legitimising as a formal, impersonal process, and internal legitimising, which typically unfolds through discussion, negotiation and reflection.
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Papers by Geoff Walters