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The purpose of this paper is to construct knowledge on the working processes of nomination committees (NCs) in sport and analyze their potential to shape board composition. The significance of such an effort lies in its potential to shed light on the processes preceding the structures and practices created for the wielding of power in sport organizations. This paper reports findings based on telephone interviews with NCs of 64 Swedish national sport organizations. The analyses show how NC processes may be distinguished into six components: election of the NC at the general assembly (GA), monitoring of the incumbent board, preparation for nominee identification, assembly of a list of potential nominees, evaluation of potential nominees, and submission of proposed nominees to the GA. Within and across these components, the analyses reveal three aspects particularly powerful in their potential to shape board composition: degree of formalization, network reliance, and transparency. These findings have implications for research and practice. Regarding the former, the study provides a baseline description that can be used in future explorations of the NC process and its determinants and effects in varying contexts. As for the latter, the findings suggest that sport organizations carry an untapped potential in considering NCs’ shaping potential, regardless of whether an ‘adequate’ board is one that is equipped to improve organizational efficiency or one that safeguards representation and democracy.
Cecilia Stenling; Josef Fahlén; Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Eivind Å. Skille. The gatekeepers of sport governance – nomination committees’ shaping potential in national sport organizations’ board composition processes. European Sport Management Quarterly 2021, 1 -18.
AMA StyleCecilia Stenling, Josef Fahlén, Anna-Maria Strittmatter, Eivind Å. Skille. The gatekeepers of sport governance – nomination committees’ shaping potential in national sport organizations’ board composition processes. European Sport Management Quarterly. 2021; ():1-18.
Chicago/Turabian StyleCecilia Stenling; Josef Fahlén; Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Eivind Å. Skille. 2021. "The gatekeepers of sport governance – nomination committees’ shaping potential in national sport organizations’ board composition processes." European Sport Management Quarterly , no. : 1-18.
The aim of this study was to explore how a youth sport development programme in connection with a major event may facilitate sustainable outcomes for the organization of youth sports in Norway. The context of the study involved the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports’ initiative to increase young people’s engagement within Norwegian organized sports. The result of the initiative was the Young Leaders Programme (YLP) in connection with the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games. Young people’s perceptions of the YLP, as well as how these perceptions relate to its implementation, are evaluated to determine the extent to which the programme may make a difference to sustainable youth engagement in organized sports. Qualitative data were generated through interviews with 16 YLP participants, aged 16–20, and five implementing agents. Applying the framework of processes affecting sustainability, the study shows how certain forms of sustainability can be enhanced while constraining other forms at the same time. The findings highlight that project design and implementation play a more crucial role in creating organizational sustainability than in creating individual sustainability. Furthermore, we were able to reveal that the engagement of young people in sport events as volunteers fosters individual sustainability, of which sport organizations and sporting communities should take advantage by providing arenas where young people can re-engage in sport organizations and thus contribute as change agents to a sustainable organization for youth sports.
Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Dag Hanstad; Berit Skirstad. Facilitating Sustainable Outcomes for the Organization of Youth Sports through Youth Engagement. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2101 .
AMA StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter, Dag Hanstad, Berit Skirstad. Facilitating Sustainable Outcomes for the Organization of Youth Sports through Youth Engagement. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (4):2101.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter; Dag Hanstad; Berit Skirstad. 2021. "Facilitating Sustainable Outcomes for the Organization of Youth Sports through Youth Engagement." Sustainability 13, no. 4: 2101.
By providing an analytical framework that draws on a conceptualisation of legitimacy in organisation studies, this paper demonstrates that the sport policy process can be understood as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts. Based on recent suggestions in organisation theory literature on how to approach legitimacy and legitimation, we applied the framework on a small sample of published sport policy studies to demonstrate its utility. By applying the framework, six interweaved and interweaving elements of the legitimating act within sport policy processes were identified: legitimacy-seeking organisation, subject, source(s), strategy, bases and scenario. The analysis shows that each of the six elements works by intersecting within each phase of the policy process. The main conclusion is that consequences – often unintended – resulting from legitimating acts in one phase have legitimacy-related implications for the other phases of the policy process. As pressing as pinpointing the use of all elements of the framework is, it is equally important to distinguish each of the elements in order to fulfil the analytical potential of the proposed framework. Since sport policy processes in practice rely primarily on organisations and organisational action, future sport policy research would benefit from this type of framework connecting organisations and organising to policy processes.
Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Cecilia Stenling; Josef Fahlén; Eivind Skille. Sport policy analysis revisited: the sport policy process as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 2018, 10, 621 -635.
AMA StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter, Cecilia Stenling, Josef Fahlén, Eivind Skille. Sport policy analysis revisited: the sport policy process as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. 2018; 10 (4):621-635.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter; Cecilia Stenling; Josef Fahlén; Eivind Skille. 2018. "Sport policy analysis revisited: the sport policy process as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts." International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 10, no. 4: 621-635.
This article examines the current governance structures in international competitive snowboarding and analyses empirically how key actors operate within the diverging logics that shape such structures. We expand upon the existing literature on professional snowboarding by offering a more contemporary understanding of the constantly evolving processes of institutionalization. Qualitative data was gathered from the authors’ first-hand experiences with international snowboarding, based on (1) interviews with system insiders, (2) document analysis, and (3) participant observations. Two dominant and contradicting logics of competitive snowboarding were identified, forming a fragmented, dual institutional structure that we call the industry-based and nation-based governance model. Our findings suggest that recent professionalization processes have led to defragmentation efforts, thus signalling a shift towards a nation-based governance focus. Therefore, we conclude that other action sports that will join the Olympics, such as surfing and skateboarding, are advised to find solutions for mediating inherent contradictions of governance logics to avoid institutional fragmentation at an early stage.
Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Boris Kilvinger; Annika Bodemar; Eivind A. Skille; Markus Kurscheidt. Dual governance structures in action sports: institutionalization processes of professional snowboarding revisited. Sport in Society 2018, 22, 1655 -1673.
AMA StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter, Boris Kilvinger, Annika Bodemar, Eivind A. Skille, Markus Kurscheidt. Dual governance structures in action sports: institutionalization processes of professional snowboarding revisited. Sport in Society. 2018; 22 (10):1655-1673.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter; Boris Kilvinger; Annika Bodemar; Eivind A. Skille; Markus Kurscheidt. 2018. "Dual governance structures in action sports: institutionalization processes of professional snowboarding revisited." Sport in Society 22, no. 10: 1655-1673.
This article discusses the successful bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and its incorporation within the broader youth sport strategy within organised sport in Norway. Although it is widely accepted that the argument that major sports events are a solution to problems of low levels of involvement in sport is not generally supported by evidence Norwegian sport organisations used this argument as a primary justification for hosting the YOG. The aim of the research is to investigate: a) why NIF used this argument even though there was so little evidence to support its validity; and b) how and why this seemingly contradictory argument was successfully ‘sold’ to the public. The research was guided by the methodological approach of discourse analysis and the theoretical framework of the neo-institutionalist concept of legitimacy. Based on this analysis I show how the institutionalised rhetoric of the Norwegian youth sport policy (YSP) adopted by the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) became the main argument for the YOG bid. Further findings show that rather than responding to the youth sport participation problem, NIF used the development of youth sport as a convenient rationale to bid for the YOG in order to secure legitimacy from two of its main stakeholders – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Norwegian government. Rather than hosting the YOG as solution to a youth sport participation problem, NIF used the institutionalised rhetoric of the YSP, defining a problem to fit the solution.
Anna-Maria Strittmatter. Defining a problem to fit the solution: A neo-institutional explanation for legitimising the bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 2016, 8, 421 -437.
AMA StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter. Defining a problem to fit the solution: A neo-institutional explanation for legitimising the bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. 2016; 8 (3):421-437.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter. 2016. "Defining a problem to fit the solution: A neo-institutional explanation for legitimising the bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games." International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics 8, no. 3: 421-437.
Neo-institutional concepts of organizational change and organizational reproduction combined with implementation theory are employed to examine the implementation of the Norwegian youth sport policy (YSP) associated with the Youth Olympic Games. The YSP also called ‘youth campaign’, aims at increasing the number of young leaders, young coaches and young athletes. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews and observations and show that implementation is characterized by revitalization of existing practices within the Norwegian sports system through translation and bricolage and innovative entrepreneurship. Our data indicate that the focus of the implementation was on the recruitment and education of young leaders. The development of young coaches and the recruitment and retention of young athletes are neglected. The non-involvement of national sport federations and sports clubs as well as the complexity of administrative layers are causes for the lack of effective implementation. In sum, a lasting impact on the Norwegian youth sport development is doubtful.
Anna-Maria Strittmatter; Eivind Åsrum Skille. Boosting youth sport? Implementation of Norwegian youth sport policy through the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games. Sport in Society 2016, 20, 144 -160.
AMA StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter, Eivind Åsrum Skille. Boosting youth sport? Implementation of Norwegian youth sport policy through the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games. Sport in Society. 2016; 20 (1):144-160.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAnna-Maria Strittmatter; Eivind Åsrum Skille. 2016. "Boosting youth sport? Implementation of Norwegian youth sport policy through the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games." Sport in Society 20, no. 1: 144-160.