Torsten Schlesinger

Who will volunteer? Analysing individual and structural factors of volunteering in Swiss sports clubs

Abstract This article analyses the conditions influencing volunteering in sports clubs. It focuses not only on individual characteristics of volunteers but also on the corresponding structural conditions of sports clubs. It proposes a model of voluntary work in sports clubs based on economic behaviour theory. The influences of both the individual and context levels on the decision to engage in voluntary work are estimated in different multilevel models. Results of these multilevel analyses indicate that volunteering is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as lower workloads, higher income, children belonging to the sports club, longer club memberships, or a strong commitment to the club. It is also influenced by club-specific structural conditions; volunteering is more probable in rural sports clubs whereas growth-oriented goals in clubs have a destabilising effect.

Professionalisation of sport federations – a multi-level framework for analysing forms, causes and consequences

Research question: International and national sport federations as well as their member organisations are key actors within the sport system and have a wide range of relationships outside the sport system (e.g. with the state, sponsors, and the media). They are currently facing major challenges such as growing competition in top-level sports, democratisation of sports with ‘sports for all’ and sports as the answer to social problems. In this context, professionalising sport organisations seems to be an appropriate strategy to face these challenges and current problems. We define the professionalisation of sport organisations as an organisational process of transformation leading towards organisational rationalisation, efficiency and business-like management. This has led to a profound organisational change, particularly within sport federations, characterised by the strengthening of institutional management (managerialism) and the implementation of efficiency-based management instruments and paid staff. Research methods: The goal of this article is to review the current international literature and establish a global understanding of and theoretical framework for analysing why and how sport organisations professionalise and what consequences this may have. Results and findings: Our multi-level approach based on the social theory of action integrates the current concepts for analysing professionalisation in sport federations. We specify the framework for the following research perspectives: (1) forms, (2) causes and (3) consequences, and discuss the reciprocal relations between sport federations and their member organisations in this context. Implications: Finally, we work out a research agenda and derive general methodological consequences for the investigation of professionalisation processes in sport organisations.

‘Poor thing’ or ‘Wow, she knows how to do it’ – gender stereotypes as barriers to women’s qualification in the education of soccer coaches

This essay explores the mechanisms preventing women from undertaking coaching education in professional soccer, as well as the factors at work when women abandon such education. The focus here is the influence of gender stereotypes on the exclusion of females from coaching education and on discrimination against them during education. Systems theory provides the background of an explanatory model designed to explain in detail the impact of such stereotypes on different system levels (society, organization, interaction) and the resulting exclusion of women from coaching education. A qualitative interview study in a regional association of the German Football Association (DFB) reveals that the exclusion of women often begins before they even start coaching education.

Does context matter? Analysing structural and individual factors of member commitment in sport clubs

Abstract This article addresses factors that infl uence member commitment in sport clubs. Based on the theory of social action and the economic behaviour theory, it focuses not only on individual characteristics of club members but also on the corresponding structural conditions of sport clubs. Accordingly, a multilevel framework is developed for explaining member commitment in sport clubs. Different multilevel models were estimated in order to analyse the infl uences of both the individual and corresponding context level in a sample of n = 1,699 members of 42 Swiss and German sport clubs. The multilevel analysis permitted an adequate handling of hierarchically structured data. Results of these multilevel analyses indicated that the commitment of members is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as strong identification with their club, positively perceived (collective) solidarity, satisfaction with their sport club, or voluntary engagement. It is also determined by club-specific structural conditions: commitment proves to be more probable in rural sport clubs and clubs that explicitly support sociability. Furthermore, cross-level effects in relation to member commitment were also found between the context variable sociability and the individual variable identification.

Socio-economic and cultural determinants of sports participation in Switzerland from 2000 to 2008

Abstract This study analyses how socio-economic and cultural variables have impacted on sports participation in Switzerland across time. Theories in behavioural economics are used to formulate a core model assessing the central budget restrictions to sports participation. The analysis is expanded to include intercultural differences between the three Swiss language regions and a longitudinal time perspective. Data is taken from nine waves of the Swiss Household Panel (2000–2008). A descriptive account of trends in sports participation and the variables influencing it over time is followed by regression analyses. Results show a continuation of significant inequalities in Swiss sports participation (in terms of age, income, education) as well as sociocultural differences across language groups. Nonetheless, it can be seen that sport has become more socially permeable over time (socio-economic convergence), and there are also clear signs of sociocultural convergence processes.

Expectation-based types of volunteers in Swiss sports clubs

Volunteer research in sports clubs has paid hardly any attention to the individual expectations even though matching conditions to the specific volunteers expectations represents a major management challenge. This article presents a person-oriented approach to the expectation profiles of volunteers that delivers the basis for identifying different volunteer segments. The approach assumes explicitly that volunteers in sports clubs develop specific expectations regarding their working conditions. These expectations were determined in a sample of 441 members of 45 selected sports clubs. Proximately, a cluster analysis revealed that volunteers vary in their expectations regarding voluntary work. Four different types of volunteers could be identified: (1) recognition seekers, (2) material incentive seekers, (3) participation and communication seekers, and (4) support seekers. These “expectation-based volunteer types” could also be characterized in socioeconomic, membership-related, and volunteer-work-related terms. These types could serve as a basis for designing specific voluntary work conditions in sports clubs.

Individual and contextual determinants of stable volunteering in sport clubs

This article addresses factors that influence voluntary sport club (VSC) members’ loyalty to voluntary engagement. The question asked is an issue of VSC volunteers’ commitment; whether they decide to quit or continue their engagement. A multilevel approach was used that considered both individual characteristics of volunteers and corresponding contextual features of VSCs to analyse members’ voluntary commitment. Different multilevel models were estimated in a sample of 477 volunteers in 26 Swiss and German VSCs. Results indicated that members’ stable voluntary activity is not just an outcome of individual characteristics such as having children belonging to the club, strong identification with their club, positively perceived (collective) solidarity and job satisfaction. In addition to these factors, the findings confirm the significance of the contextual level. Stable volunteering appears to be more probable in rural VSCs and clubs that value conviviality. Surprisingly, the results reveal that specific measures to promote volunteering have no significant effect on voluntary commitment in VSCs.

Coaching soccer is a man's job! - The influence of gender stereotypes on structures for recruiting female coaches to soccer clubs

Abstract Statistics published by the German Football Association indicate that women are significantly under-represented amongst soccer coaches, especially in the amateur leagues. In this paper we analyse how gender stereotypes influence the structural conditions surrounding the recruitment of coaches to soccer clubs that contribute to the exclusion of women from coaching positions. A qualitative study of five selected soccer clubs which are members of a German regional soccer association reveals that informal and personal decision-making practices still play a fundamental role in the recruitment of coaches. These practices undermine formal guidelines and give disproportionate weight to stereotyped preferences in the recruitment of soccer coaches. In this context, decision-makers’ (functionaries’) professed support of women largely serves a symbolic purpose and creates an illusion of equality concerning decisions that have already been taken at an informal level.

Motivational profiles of sporting event volunteers

Abstract This article presents an approach for segmenting sporting event volunteers according to differences in their motives. Empirical data were obtained from a sample of 1169 volunteers who registered for the 2014 European Athletics Championships in Zürich. They completed the ‘Volunteer Motivation Scale for International Sporting Events’ (VMS-ISE) questionaire. The validity of the VMS-ISE was replicated by confirmatory factor analysis and the data were cluster analysed to identify distinct motivation-based volunteer profiles. These segmented volunteers on the basis of mutually exclusive motivational characteristics. The external validity of the four motivation-based types (‘community supporters’, ‘material incentive seekers’, ‘social networkers’ and ‘career and personal growth orienteers’) was confirmed with socio-economic, sport-related and volunteer activity-related variables. It is concluded that motivation-based segmentation represents a useful way of gaining a clearer understanding of the patterns underlying the heterogeneity of sporting events volunteers.

Drivers of and Barriers to Professionalization in International Sport Federations

ABSTRACT In a changing and complex environment, international sport federations (IFs) have to face new challenges. These challenges can trigger or hinder IFs’ professionalization processes. While researchers have examined organizational change and professionalization of national sport federations (NFs) and clubs, studies on IFs are rare. Considering professionalization as an important element of IFs’ change processes in recent years, the study attempts to fill this gap. The conceptual framework is based on the concepts and dynamics of organizational change, the influence of isomorphic pressures and the operationalization of a multi-level framework. Data from six case studies was analyzed by means of qualitative content analysis. Findings reveal multiple causes of IFs’ professionalization. Three particular findings are discussed: professionalization as a dynamic process with phases of acceleration that vary depending on IFs’ size; IFs’ becoming increasingly business-like through isomorphic changes; and five causes of particular relevance to IFs’ current professionalization process.