Milena M. Parent

Olympic Games Legacy: From General Benefits to Sustainable Long-Term Legacy

The purpose of this article is to map and contextualise the evolution of the concept of legacy over time using bid and final report documentation from Olympic Games host and candidate cities. As a result of the increased importance of legacy in the modern Olympic movement, many trends have emerged. Examples of modern trends include numerous new legacy themes (e.g. environmental, information, educational); changes in the types of legacy being emphasised (e.g. closer links to city and regional planning initiatives and legacy sustainability), its increasing complexity and interconnectedness found within the typology of legacies, and legacys overall governance including major influencers and decision makers.

Building a framework for issues management in sport through stakeholder theory

Sport managers are continually challenged by changing constituent environments as they work toward short‐term and long‐term organizational goals. At any given time, decision‐makers may have several issues that must be addressed in order to satisfy the demands of their organizations constituents. As such, managers need robust methods with which to analyze the organizations environment in order to develop strategic planning initiatives. This paper reviews the basic tenets of stakeholder theory and discusses/suggests applications to sports‐related issues, in an effort to show that stakeholder theory has descriptive and prescriptive value for sport management practitioners and academics alike. Stakeholder analysis can be used to identify stakeholders, stakeholder claims, motivations and relative importance, by evaluating stakeholders’ levels of power, legitimacy and urgency related to the issue (Mitchell, Agle & Wood, 1997). These attributes exist at varying levels as an issue develops and solutions are presented over time. In classifying stakeholders based on the attributes of power, legitimacy and urgency, and identifying their underlying needs and expectations, sport managers can more efficiently allocate resources. This paper provides a framework for issue analysis based on the tenets of stakeholder theory and issues management. It also proposes a research agenda to evaluate the framework, as well as considerations for managers wishing to use the framework. In doing so, stakeholder theory allows for new insight into issues management, from both research and practical perspectives.

Risk Management Issues in Large-scale Sporting Events: a Stakeholder Perspective

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to identify the risk management issues in large-scale sporting events from the perspective of the organizing committee members and stakeholders. A comparative case study analysis of two major Canadian sporting events (the International Skating Union 2006 World Figure Skating Championships and the U-20 Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup Canada 2007) was conducted through analysis of archival material and interviews. A revised definition of risk management emerged from the data: “risk management is a proactive process that involves assessing all possible risks to the events and its stakeholders by strategically anticipating, preventing, minimizing, and planning responses to mitigate those identified risks”. Fifteen risk issue categories were also identified by the various stakeholder groups. The categories were: environment, financial, human resources, infrastructure, interdependence, legacy, media, operations, organizing, participation, political, relationships, sport, threats, and visibility.

Factors That Led to the Drowning of a World Championship Organizing Committee: A Stakeholder Approach

Abstract The purpose of this paper was to explore the organizational and stakeholder-related factors which led to the Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) cancelling its contract with the 2005 Montreal Aquatics World Championships Organizing Committee, thereby pulling the event from Montreal, Canada. The case study, based on stakeholder theory, was built through bid/organizing committee member and stakeholder interviews and archival material. A lack of formal financial commitments, power congruence between partners and the pervasive politics, communication, proper human resource management procedures, and proper due diligence emerged as the critical combination of factors which resulted in the unfortunate outcome. This study contributes significantly to the literature and to entities/stakeholders engaged in events (governments, sport federations, etc.) by (1) providing a new approach to studying failed organizing committees; and (2) highlighting issues that are critical to managing (and keeping) sporting events, thus avoiding failure. A model of organizing committee failure is also proposed.

Towards a Management Model for Sport and Physical Activity Community-based Partnerships

Abstract Given the increasing popularity of the partnership concept and of sport and physical activity-based programs, this paper integrates the extensive North American and European management, sport management and political science literatures (in both French and English) to develop a partnership model for sport, community-based initiatives. The proposed model includes a three-part feedback loop: the formation of a partnership between two or more organizations (the antecedents), the management of the partnership and the partnerships evaluation, which feeds back into the antecedents and management. The partnership antecedents include the projects purpose, environment, nature of the partners and partnership planning. The partnership management aspects include the attributes of the partnership, communication and decision making. The partnership evaluation components include the type of evaluation and the determination of success/effectiveness. This paper therefore offers a comprehensive analytical framework of sport and physical activity community-based partnerships.

Managing Major Sports Events : Theory and Practice

Chapter 1. Introduction: The World of Major Sports Events Chapter 2. Bidding for an Event Chapter 3. Leading and Setting Up an Organizing Committee Chapter 4. Planning Major Sports Events Chapter 5. Workforce Management: Building High Functioning Organizing Committees Chapter 6. Marketing, Sponsorship, And Look-Feel Chapter 7. Venues and Venuization Chapter 8. Media Chapter 9. Stakeholder Relations and Protocol Chapter 10. Ceremonies Chapter 11. Risk Management and Security Chapter 12. Technology Chapter 13. Games-Time Chapter 14. Closure Chapter 15. Legacy and Sustainability Chapter 16. Other Considerations Chapter 17. Conclusion

The (Neo) institutionalization of legacy and its sustainable governance within the Olympic Movement

Abstract The purpose of this article was to further explore the emergence of legacy and the process through which it becomes a taken-for-granted institutional rule that has impacted how organizations plan and implement the Games. More specifically, this article reviews why and how legacy was adopted, the forces at play, and the subsequent implications on bid and organizing committees and other actors within the Olympic Movement. Institutional theory is applied as a theoretical framework to investigate the emergence and evolution of legacy and its governance. The organizational field under investigation consists of the committees involved in the bidding for and hosting of the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee as the main rights holder, and other actors within the Olympic Movement which impact or can be impacted by the events legacy (e.g., national and international sport organizations and sponsors). Archival material was used as the primary source of data. This source included multiple types of documentation such as bid documents, candidature files, final reports, and related websites. Institutionalization is an ongoing process. As such, in order to further understand the adoption of legacy into the Olympic Movement, the evolution of the concept was broken down into the pre-institutionalization, semi-institutionalization, and full institutionalization phases as described by Tolbert and Zucker. Managerial implications that arise as a result of the institutionalization of legacy and the subsequent objectification of its governance are discussed.

Issues and Strategies Pertaining to the Canadian Governments' Coordination Efforts in Relation to the 2010 Olympic Games

Abstract The purpose of this article was to understand the government stakeholder groups coordination issues and strategies in mega-events, here, the 2010 Olympic Games. The case study was built by means of archival material, interviews, and observations. All three levels of government were included (i.e., the two host municipalities, the host province, and the federal government). Findings highlight five contextual-based issues (time, geography, funding, other resources, and the political situation) and eleven other types of issues (accountability/authority, activation/leveraging, knowledge management, legal, operational, planning, power, relationships, social issues, structure, and turnover). Eight strategies were used to address these issues: communication processes, decision-making frames, engagement, flexibility, formalized agreements, human resource management procedures/principles, strategic planning, and structural framework. The relationships between issues and from issues to strategies are discussed, as are within-group stakeholder heterogeneity and the impact the findings have on public administration theory and practice.

The sustainability of the Youth Olympic Games: stakeholder networks and institutional perspectives.

This paper explored the Youth Olympic Games’ (YOG) potential sustainability (survival and success) through an analysis of how actors exert various forms of pressure on the YOG. Given the impact of the Olympic Games and of youth on society, it becomes important to study the newest member of the Olympic Family. Combining stakeholder, network and institutional literatures, a case study of the first Winter YOG in Innsbruck (Austria) was built by means of observations and interviews. The stakeholder network analysis revealed three central stakeholders for the YOG’s sustainability: the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the media (press and broadcast), and the athletes’ parents. The institutional context was challenged by stakeholders’ changing levels of relative saliency, and notably by the parents’ emerging saliency. Practically speaking, YOG managers need to be diplomats in balancing pressures originating from the international (IOC) and local (parents) institutional contexts.

Understanding adolescent sport participation through online social media

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the potential role and use of online social media to influence sport participation in youth aged 12 to 17 years by responding to two specific research questions: what is the nature of the online “marketplace” among youth?; and what is the nature of adolescent sport behavior as revealed through activities on online social media?Design/methodology/approach – The paper outlines and then implements the research methodology of netnography to achieve its purpose. Netnography involves a researcher joining an online forum, e‐tribe or other open‐source social media to observe and record the discussions for analysis.Findings – The overarching finding is that online discourse related to sport participation among youth is very limited. When discussion does take place, five themes emerge: benefits, advice‐seeking, finding common interests, learning new sports, and challenges.Research limitations/implications – This research provides impetus for future work in the cont...