Authors
Klenk, C. & Nagel, S.
Year
2012
Title
Sportvereine als Interessenorganisationen?! – Ursachen und Aus-wirkungen von Ziel-Interessen-Divergenzen in freiwilligen Sportorganisationen. (Sports Clubs as Mutual Interest Organizations? – Causes and Effects of Divergences between Club Goals and Member Interests in Volunteer Sports Organizations).
Abstract
For sports clubs to function successfully as mutual interest organizations, it is vital that their goals are in line with their members’ interests. However, the reality is that this process of alignment does not always take place, and that more often than not, club goals and member interests diverge. This paper addresses the causes and effects of such goal-interest divergences in sports clubs. Based on multi-level actor theory models, it analyses the structure and action conditions in sports clubs that lead to divergences in goals and interests at both club and member levels. To identify the underlying causes, corporate club structure and members’ individual objectives are examined. The results show that divergences are caused by increasing levels of differentiation and hierarchy in clubs (e.g., size of club, networks, oligarchization) and by the members’ pursuit of individual interests. The effects of divergences are then analyzed by assessing the responses of individual members and club leaders to apparent divergences. The results show that both club members and club leadership respond in predominantly constructive ways (e.g., through discussion of problems, trust, compromise), so that many clubs are clearly able to deal with, process, and withstand goal-interest divergences, at least to a certain extent.
Full reference
Klenk, C. & Nagel, S. (2012). Sportvereine als Interessenorganisationen?! – Ursachen und Aus-wirkungen von Ziel-Interessen-Divergenzen in freiwilligen Sportorganisationen. (Sports Clubs as Mutual Interest Organizations? – Causes and Effects of Divergences between Club Goals and Member Interests in Volunteer Sports Organizations). Sport und Gesellschaft, 9, 3-37.
Language of article
German
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