Dragen sociaalnetwerksites van sportverenigingen (ClubSNSs) bij aan het clubgevoel van leden? 129 leden van sportverenigingen vulden een vragenlijst in over ClubSNSs en clubgevoel. Daaruit blijkt dat leden ClubSNSs informatief, vermakelijk en interactief vinden en ClubSNSs gebruiken voor het volgen van content over sport, leden en de club. Verder blijken ClubSNSs belangrijk voor het clubgevoel van leden, doordat identificatie met de sportvereniging wordt opgebouwd.
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Virtual communities are online spaces with potential of integration of (member-generated) content and conversations [7,8]. In our research project we are interested in the adoption and building of virtual communities in organized sports, that is to say in the voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) in the Netherlands. Since these VSCs have massively transferred their communication with members from paper club magazines to online channels, these virtual communities arise from the use of a growing number of websites, e-mail and social network sites (SNSs). Although virtual communities are broadly investigated, such as social communities, brand communities, and public communities, there is little scholarly interest in virtual communities of member organizations that VSCs are an example of. The study that is to be presented at SECSI 2019 concerns the clubs’ use of SNSs (ClubSNSs), such as Facebook and Twitter, within the virtual communities. These SNSs are increasingly used by the VSCs to facilitate organizational communication and to obtain a good internal climate [9]. However, academic understanding of the impact of ClubSNSs’ content and conversations on the organizational performance of the VSC is in its infancy. In our study, we examined this impact of ClubSNSs use on the involvement among members and whether we can explain this by members’ identification with the club. Furthermore, we have tried to categorize ClubSNSs by content types, such as informative, conversational or sociable ClubSNSs, and their role in stimulating the use of ClubSNSs. In this way we attempted to gain insight into the effect of types of ClubSNSs’ content and conversations on membership involvement and the mediating role of identification with the club. This insight can help VSCs to develop effective ClubSNS channels that contribute to organizational goals such as supportive and loyal membership.
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In addition to formal welfare institutions, there are many informal initiatives in the social landscape that are engaged in social work. These informal actors offer help, care or support to their members and visitors, and/or fulfil a bridging function to formal welfare organisations. They fulfil this role in particularly for target groups that experience distance or barriers to the formal care and welfare system. Despite the important role they play, these actors are often still unknown territory for both formal care and welfare actors and policymakers. Based on research from Belgium and the Netherlands, this article sheds light on this hidden voluntary social work and its characteristics. We also examine hidden voluntary social work in relation to formal welfare organisations and the (local) government. Despite the potential added value of cooperation, it is not easy to build up a sustainable and equal cooperative relationship, or for the government to effectively support hidden voluntary social work. Safeguarding the uniqueness of informal players is a particular concern.
