Popi Sotiriadou

Choosing a qualitative data analysis tool: a comparison of NVivo and Leximancer

As the use and availability of qualitative software analysis tools increase, so does ambiguity regarding the choice of the most appropriate software in sport management research. This paper uses NVivo and Leximancer to analyse the same set of data derived from interviews with sport management experts on high performance sport to showcase the differences in findings depending on the type of software used. The findings alert sport management and social science researchers to the importance of closely examining the choice of software for qualitative data analysis. Researchers may base their decision on aspects such as the type and size of data set, their competence and skills in data interpretation and the level of engagement with data analysis they plan on undertaking. This paper discusses the implications for researchers in the sport management field using these tools for data analysis and highlights the value that software can add to the research effort.

Scrutinizing the sport pyramid metaphor: an examination of the relationship between elite success and mass participation in Flanders

Many governments use the trickle-down or demonstration effect to justify their high investments in an elite sport. The assumption is that elite success increases mass participation. Evidence of a relationship between elite success and mass participation is fragmented, and previous studies have mostly failed to demonstrate a connection. Nevertheless, many authors assert the need for more research on this relationship. This study examines the effect of elite sport on mass participation. The study uses Pearsons correlations to analyse the relationship between membership data and athlete success (using the elite sport index) in Flanders over the past 15 years. The membership figures from Flanders were compared with figures from the Netherlands to identify the common trends. Analysis across 20 sports revealed no consistent relationship between membership levels and success. Positive correlations were notable in Flanders in four of the eight sports in which elite Flemish competitors achieved significant international successes during the study period (athletics, gymnastics, judo and tennis). The analysis suggests that a trickle-down effect is not likely to occur automatically but might be found under specific conditions. This leads us to call for new studies that bypass the question of whether there is such a relationship and concentrate on why, how and when this relationship occurs.

Elite sport culture and policy interrelationships: the case of Sprint Canoe in Australia

In recent years, elite sport policy has received considerable research attention. However, to date the emphasis of such studies has been the examination of policies as stand-alone entities and the ways each policy may impact athlete performance rather than how policies influence each other. This study explores the elite sport policy interrelationships of Sprint Canoe in order to explain the dynamic links between policies and how they may affect performance. To explore these links in depth, interviews with coaches, high performance managers and athletes from Sprint Canoe in Australia were conducted. The findings of this study offer a contribution to the existing literature on elite sport policy and go beyond the mere exploration of sport and country-specific policy contexts. They showcase the role of a sport’s culture on shaping policy linkages and interrelationships. The practical implications of recognising where sport policies require attention and how to achieve improvements are discussed.

Coach decision-making and the relative age effect on talent selection in football

ABSTRACT Research Question(s): Talent selection is a stepping stone to sporting success at national and international levels. The research questions that guided this study were: (a) What is the decision-making (DM) process that coaches (as key selectors) use during talent selection? and (b) In what ways does awareness of the relative age effect (RAE) influence their DM? Research Methods: This study employed an action research approach in order to raise coach awareness of RAE on talent selection to examine the decisions surrounding selection of players. From a sample of 263 male football (soccer) players (age range 12–15) and 4 coaches, qualitative and quantitative data were collected on coach decisions for selection of players and frequencies of selected players in birth-months. Secondary data were also gathered from previous years selections. Results and Findings: Logistic regression showed that coaches’ awareness of RAE did not eliminate nor reduce it. In-depth interviews revealed that coaches’ DM was influenced by preconceptions and various pressures to select certain players. Pressures resonated within the volatile nature of their profession and career goals, the existence of competing decision-makers such as peers and parents, and the tension to select players for immediate success. Implications: The results lead to the consideration of various practical recommendations on coach organisation, coach education and alternative interventions in DM such as an alternative staged approach to talent selection that lends itself open for future research.

Improving the Practicum Experience in Sport Management: A Case Study

Abstract Research on cooperative education is widespread; such studies in sport management are just as vital. This study examined student and host agency views on their actual (present behaviour) and optimal performance (desired standard) during practicum and analyzed the performance gap between present (actual) and optimal performance. Themes from journals written by 25 sport management students at an Australian university and 21 host agency evaluation reports, including nine in-depth interviews were analyzed. The data helped identify and compare perceptual differences and similarities between present behaviour and desired standard. The paper concludes with recommendations to improve the practicum experience in sport management.

An examination of the stakeholders and elite athlete development pathways in tennis

Research question: The research questions that guided this investigation were (1) ‘What are the roles of sport development stakeholders in elite player development pathways?’ and (2) ‘How are those elite pathways modelled in tennis?’ Research methods: Data from 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with international tennis experts were thematically analysed to explore stakeholder involvement and how their interactions and strategies shape elite tennis pathways. Results and findings: The results show that during the attraction/retention process of elite sport development national tennis associations (NTAs) are responsible for initiating programmes that local clubs and coaches deliver. During the talent identification and selection process NTAs, clubs and coaches cooperate to identify talent. Throughout the talent development process, tennis players progress from clubs to NTA training centres or private academies. Last, during the nurturing process, NTAs support players in the transition from junior to senior level and once players are self-sufficient, the NTA support decreases. Implications: These findings offer empirical evidence on the roles of stakeholders and their support to players in shaping development pathways in tennis. The shift in stakeholder dynamics and variation in their roles and relationships suggests that stakeholders can have different levels of involvement depending on the developmental process. These results help draw meaningful practical implications. For instance, the heightened role of local clubs during most of the sport development processes points towards the need to revisit the level of support clubs receive and their capacity to deliver optimal developmental pathways.

Attracting and retaining club members in times of changing societies: the case of cycling in Australia.

Previous research revealed that sport clubs increasingly experience problems regarding the recruitment and retention of members. Demographic shifts in Western societies (e.g. low birth rates, more females, and old people) and an increasing number of leisure substitutes and sport providers on the market contribute to decreasing club memberships. Also, the pay as you play trend combined with increased opportunities to play sport in a more non-organised fashion intensifies pressures on clubs to sustain their viability. By applying the sport development processes framework, this study examined the attraction and retention processes of cycling members in Australia. Data were gathered via interviews with cycling representatives at a national, state, and club level. The results suggest that cycling clubs experience difficulties offering value for money. The findings have implications for club management. Club managers should actively engage in marketing activities that highlight the social value of sport clubs as well as skill development.

The lived experience of sex-integrated sport and the construction of athlete identity within the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian disciplines

Abstract Equestrian sport is not subjected to the dominant binary sex segregation of most sports and therefore provides a unique opportunity to review how athlete ‘identity’ is constructed and framed within a sex-integrated sporting experience. This research draws on an ethnographic evaluation of the Olympic and Paralympic experience of the British Equestrian Team. A total of 28 interviews were conducted with riders, performance managers and support staff with transcripts subjected to Ethnographic Content Analysis. Results show clear constructs of identity, such as ‘them and us’, ‘horsey’ and ‘discipline specific’, with a noted absence of gender in the way interviewees describe themselves and others within the sport. Furthermore, in their accounts of their lives, there is a lack of salience of gender with regard to their identity as sports persons. The paper considers the implications of this phenomenon for a claim that equestrian sport might be described from a participant’s perspective as gender neutral.

An examination of the role of sport and leisure on the acculturation of Chinese immigrants.

Using acculturation theory, this study examines sport- and leisure-related factors that influence the acculturation experiences of Chinese immigrants in the local community in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Chinese immigrants were used to elicit information about the types of sport and leisure activities in which they participated, their interactions with locals and other related factors that influenced their acculturation experiences. The results revealed that (a) familiarity with an activity, (b) duration of settlement, (c) influence of key persons and community groups and (d) media-related consumption of sport impacted the nature and extent to which sport and leisure activities provided necessary conditions and opportunities for Chinese immigrants to interact with locals and experience local culture. The findings point to a number of recommendations that help strengthen social cohesion through fostering engagement in sport and leisure activities that promote belonging and respect for diversity.

Managing high-performance sport: introduction to past, present and future considerations

High-performance (HP) sport has emerged as an umbrella term that captures the enormity, growth and pervasive nature of elite sports on the global scene. This special issue of European Sport Management Quarterly focuses on ‘Managing High-Performance Sport’ by including a number of articles that highlight the breadth of this topic. In this introduction, we address definition challenges and the evolution of HP sport. Then, we offer insights on the contributions of the articles presented and the ways they assist in expanding the theoretical and practical boundaries of HP sport. We conclude with reporting on current and future trends in the field that may guide research and practice.