Little is known about innovation in the non-profit sport sector. The current research addresses this gap by questioning whether and to what extent sport federations innovate. It aims to identify types of innovation implemented by sport federations and their attitude and preferences towards innovation. An online questionnaire was administered to a sample of key representatives (i.e. Chair, Secretary General or Directors) of regional sport federations in Belgium (n = 101; 70% response rate). Directed content analysis of the service innovations described by respondents reveals ten different types of sport and non-sport service innovations. Results suggest that membership size and categories of sport influence preferences in knowledge creation/appropriation, and ultimately the type of innovation developed. This paper also suggests that sport federations are driven by demands by members in meeting their expectations of new services and are not risk averse. On average, the sport federations surveyed have a positive attitude towards newness that favours innovativeness. The current study would help researchers to advance further into the knowledge of service innovation in non-profit organisations. It should act as a foundation for research and practice on specific types of service innovation in sport. Managers should realise the importance of attitude for innovation and use the suggested typology to provide new services in different categories and meet members’ expectations.
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Today, Dutch National Non-profit Sports Organizations (NNSFs) experience financial pressures. Two indications for this are described in this paper i.e. increased competition in the sports sector and changes in subsidy division. Decreasing incomes from subsidies can be compensated with either increasing incomes from a commercial domain or increasing incomes from member contributions. This last solution has been the motive for the increasing interest in the use of marketing techniques as a solution for the growing uncertainties. Many NNSFs have participated in a special marketing program in order to enlarge their marketing awareness and create a marketing strategy. This paper deals with possible impediments resulting from the implementation of the marketing strategies. It is primarily based on a literature review, however, the first results from a qualitative research to the increasing use of marketing techniques among NNSFs provides insights in the experienced impediments of NNSFs .
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Dutch National Sports Organizations (NSFs) is currently experiencing financial pressures. Two indications for this are described in this paper i.e. increased competition in the sports sector and changes in subsidy division. Decreasing incomes from subsidies can be compensated with either increasing incomes from a commercial domain or increasing incomes from member contributions. This latter solution is gaining interest as a solution for the uncertainties. Many NSFs have therefore participated in a special marketing program in order to enlarge their marketing awareness and create a marketing strategy, in order to (re)win market share on the sports participation market and gain a more stable financial situation. This paper introduces my research related to the introduction of marketing techniques within NSFs and the change-over to become market oriented. An overview of existing literature about creating marketing strategies, their implementation, and market orientation is given. This outline makes obvious that the existing literature is not sufficient for studying the implementation of marketing techniques and market orientation within NSFs. Therefore, it shows the scientific relevance of my research. The paper concludes with the chosen research methodology.
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According to the resource dependence theory, organisations draw upon interorganisational relationships to address the need for additional resources. The purpose of this study was to analyse whether sport clubs with serious resource problems regarding members, human resources (volunteers and coaches), infrastructure resources (sport facilities), or financial resources would be more likely to have a relationship with another non-profit sport club, a school, or a commercial sport provider. As previous research on interorganisational relationships has been mainly based on qualitative approaches, this study used quantitative data from sport club surveys in two Western European countries, Germany and Belgium (Flanders). The results of the correlation analyses showed that sport clubs in both countries experiencing serious problems regarding the availability of sport facilities were significantly more likely to have relationships with a school or a commercial sport provider. The study provided quantitative evidence that serious resource problems are correlated with interorganisational relationships.
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Abstract - This study investigates the Business Process Management (BPM) maturity and process performance of the Dutch Department of Defence (DDoD). Like any other organisation, defence departments use BPM to manage their daily business processes. Despite using BPM, the organisation has never undertaken the initiative to analyse its BPM Maturity level and process performance. This paper presents the first results of such a study and compares this to similar military organisations, non-profit organisations and other organisations in the private sector. The DDoD BPM Maturity index score of 2.66 is similar to that of peer organisations. The study provides some suggestions for research and practical implications for organisation.
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The Centre of Research in Knowledge Organisations and Knowledge Management of Zuyd University has developed a knowledge management scan. The scan initiates from two models. The first model is based on the Value Based Knowledge Management approach (Tissen, Andriessen & Lekanne Deprez, 1998) and includes 6 basic abilities of a knowledge-intensive organisation that will enable the organisation to operate successfully in a knowledge based economy (.The second model, developed by Wierdsma and Swieringa (2002), categorises organisations according to their level of learning that is to say, how it develops a specific learning ability. Both models are briefly reviewed within this paper. This knowledge management scan is a tool that enables an organisation to assess the development of its six basic abilities. Once the organisation has a clear insight into its own abilities, it will be able to strengthen its overall learning ability and improve the organisations’ competitive position. Additionally we take a close look at our research approach for developing and implementing the knowledge management scan. The scan encompasses 15 statements per ability (90 statements in total). The complete scan will be assessed on a five-point scale by a representative group of selected employees and managers of an organization, supervised by a researcher/consultant. During the analysis of the results and the presentation of recommendations, specific attention is paid to those statements that achieve high and low scores respectively (invitation to implement improvement actions) and statements that have a relatively high spread across a broad range (differences of opinion or the statement is open to different interpretations). In particular we have examined how the knowledge management scan was put into practice in one of the departments of Zuyd University. After a short summary of the organisation's initial situation, we discuss subsequent steps taken during the assessment, analysis and the advisory process. This paragraph is followed by a concise summary of the results generated by the scan. Finally we offer the recommendations and subsequent steps to be taken to implement these advices in the near future.
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The increasing commercialisation of the sports sector and changing consumer demands are some of the issues that create challenges for non-profit sports in contemporary society. It is important for managers and marketers of these organisations to innovate because innovation is a way to grow within a competitive environment and to meet customers' expectations. The present study aims to develop an explorative typology of sports federations based on their attitudes and perceptions of determinants of innovation and their innovation capacity. A cluster analysis suggested three clusters with different responses towards service innovation: traditional sports federations, financially secure sports federations and competitive sports federations. Sports federations perceiving competition in terms of financial and human resources, favouring change and paid staff involvement in decision-making processes, and with negative economic perceptions are significantly more innovative. These findings have implications for the management and marketing of non-profit sports organisations.
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Considering wider societal developments that reflect a demand for personalised services, this study aims to uncover the relationship between the perceived need for change by voluntary sports clubs (VSCs), their adoption of innovative services to promote flexibility of sports participation (also referred to as ‘light’ sports initiatives) and their organisational growth (in terms of membership evolution). Simultaneously, the impact of key organisational capacity (OC) determinants on each of the aforementioned variables is taken into account. In this study, VSCs in Flanders (Belgium) are examined utilising three (generalised) linear mixed model analyses on longitudinal panel data from 2012, 2015 and 2018. The results show a positive relationship between the need for change on the one hand and the adoption of ‘light’ sports initiatives and organisational growth on the other hand, whilst adopting ‘light’ sports initiatives as types of service innovations do not necessarily lead to organisational growth. The results of this study offer implications for the management and policy of VSCs to cater to shifting member demands. This study serves as a stepping-stone for further research to investigate other types of innovation on organisational change and growth.
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Energy efficiency has gained a lot of prominence in recent debates on urban sustainability and housing policy due to its potential consequences for climate change. At the local, national and also international level, there are numerous initiatives to promote energy savings and the use of renewable energy to reduce the environmental burden. There is a lot of literature on energy saving and other forms of energy efficiency in housing. However, how to bring this forward in the management of individual housing organisations is not often internationally explored. An international research project has been carried out to find the answers on management questions of housing organisations regarding energy efficiency. Eleven countries have been included in this study: Germany, the United Kingdom (more specifically: England), France, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Austria and Canada. The state of the art of energy efficiency in the housing management of non-profit housing organisations and the embedding of energy efficiency to improve the quality and performance of housing in management practices have been investigated, with a focus on how policy ambitions about energy efficiency are brought forward in investment decisions at the estate level. This paper presents the conclusions of the research
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