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The director selection processes of nonprofit national sport organizations underpin board composition and hence board and organizational performance. In the New Zealand context, this study verifies the emergence of nomination committees (NCs) and critically examines, from a democratic theory perspective, the extent to which democratic legitimacy is promoted within the NC structures of national sport organizations' director selection processes. An analysis of national sport organization (NSO) constitutions affirms the NC emergence as a governance phenomenon and results in the development of an NC (constitutional powers-based) classification system. This NC classification contributes to a largely unexamined area of nonprofit sport governance by providing a foundational description of NC structural design features then used to reflect on the extent to which the identified design features may serve to protect member voice (community logic) in the face of increasing pressures on NSOs to adopt professionalized governance structures (corporate logic). A holistic system objectives approach to democratic theory is used to better understand how NC structural design may support such member voice. In this way, the article offers both scholars and practitioners an insight into a range of NC strategic design choices and potential implications for democratic legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study addresses a gap in board director research by investigating how individual personal values influence board strategic engagement. The nature of board directors' strategic engagement was examined qualitatively, using 65 in-depth interviews, content analysis, board meeting observations and board workshops. Using an interpretative lens, four differing individual personal characteristics were identified and labeled: 'mission-driven', 'commanding', 'shape-shifting', and 'community-minded'. These concepts coincided with theory of personal value theory, used in previous studies linking managers (but not board directors) to behaviors. Practical implications provide insights into attracting, retaining and developing an appropriate mix of directors to enhance nonprofit board strategic engagement, boosting performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to increase understanding in the area of leadership at the governance level of nonprofit sport organizations. Specifically, we aim to explore how intra-board leadership at the national level influences the overall leadership capacity of a federal network. In gathering new empirical evidence, the authors adopted a qualitative case study method focusing on a national sport organization operating within the Australian nonprofit sport industry. 12 interviews were conducted with current and former board members of the organization including the current and former Chief Executive Officers to gain new insights into the practice of leadership within non-profit sport governance. Interviews were analyzed using an interpretive process, and, a thematic structure relating to leadership in the non-profit sport governance context was developed. Leadership roles of the board, intra-board collective leadership, inter-board collective leadership, and individual and organizational leadership behaviors and actions emerged as the key themes in the research. These themes combined with existing literature, notably an existing working model of leadership in this domain, are integrated into the paper to shed new light on this emerging area of inquiry. We offer a number of suggestions for future research to further increase understanding and to refine, test, critique, and elaborate upon our findings in this work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research question: This study investigates how boards of directors perceive their roles in Scottish football clubs. With previous studies focusing on amateur and non-profit sport organisations (primarily in Canada, Australia and New Zealand), this research answers the call for more research into board roles and in other sport contexts. Research methods: A qualitative design is adopted and 24 directors of Scottish football clubs are interviewed. Football club directors are a difficult to access population and this research represents a rare opportunity to understand the perspectives of key sport governance informants. Template analysis is employed. Results and findings: Findings show that perceived board roles fall into five categories: control, service, operations, resource co-optation and strategy. Organisational size was found to influence perceptions of board roles in Scottish clubs, while an apparent alignment of interests between owners and managers, and a subsequent reduction in agency cost, has implications for the control role. An integration of stewardship theory and resource-dependency theory is argued to provide a more holistic understanding of board roles in this context. Implications: The study responds to calls for a multi-theoretical approach to board roles research by developing an integrative stewardship-resource dependency theory. The integrated theory is argued to be useful in framing the complex dynamics of board roles in Scottish football. Future research is encouraged to assess whether the stewardship-resource dependency theory can provide an effective framework for understanding board roles in other sport settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale/Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine how a board of a National Sport Organisation perceives collective board leadership in order to govern collaboratively in a federated sport network of state/regional sport organisations. Design/Methods: A sample of three boards from the golf network in Australia was used to investigate the presence of collective board leadership and collaborative governance. Sixteen interviews were conducted with directors from Golf Australia, Golf Victoria and Golf South Australia to explore their perceptions of leadership practice by boards across the golf network. Findings: Respondents offered a view of leadership that seemed to align with a leader-centric perspective, as distinguished from collective leadership. This finding suggests that the concept of collective board leadership may be too new and does not yet resonate with directors in this study. Practical Implications: Provides a focus on the place of leadership in the study and practice of governance. Research Contribution: This paper extends knowledge by examining perceptions of how boards view collective leadership when seeking to govern collaboratively. Results from this study provide further insights building on the extant literature to the importance of a collaborative approach to governance, which in effect, shaped the leadership style of a board. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hermeneutic phenomenology is a little used approach in sport settings yet is widely advocated in other disciplines (e.g. health research). This article contributes to the theoretical understanding and practical application of hermeneutic phenomenology in sport research. It considers and explores the lived experience of skiing through a phenomenological approach and in so doing exposes a deeper understanding into the meaning skiing may hold in the lifeworlds of those who ski. Such research highlights the growing use of interpretive paradigms to elucidate lived experience in sport research, contrasting measurement of experience with seeking to understand the experiences themselves. We assert that hermeneutic phenomenology has much to offer sport research where an understanding of how one’s subjective encounter can reveal much about the shared knowings, meanings and experiences of participation in sport in our society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The focus of this paper is to share thinking about networks in action research (AR) and to consider their role, purpose, and how networks’ outcomes and impacts might be evaluated. Networks are often a by-product of AR projects, yet research focused on the network itself as part of a project is rare. The paper is one of several associated with the Evaluative Study of Action Research (ESAR) in which we wish to understand how projected outcomes and impacts are realised and why certain approaches are chosen and seen to be effective. Description is provided of the development and function of networks and their connection to, and within, AR. We then explore the first of a series of networks in the ESAR, the core team network, and undertake a formative evaluation of the functioning of this network. The paper concludes with a look ahead to the evaluation of each of the various levels of networks anticipated within the ESAR. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The focus of this paper is to share thinking about meta-level evaluation of action research (AR), and to introduce indicator domains for assessing and measuring inputs, outputs and outcomes. Meta-level and multi-site evaluation has been rare in AR beyond project implementation and participant satisfaction. The paper is the first of several associated with the Evaluative Study of Action Research (ESAR) in which we wish to establish the ways that espoused intents articulated in projects are realized and why certain approaches are adopted and seen to be effective. We seek to increase understanding of outcomes and impact of AR. Description is provided of multiple issues of complexity associated with establishing evaluative criteria and indicators categorized according to inputs, process, outputs, outcomes and impact. We explore theory associated with definition and practice of evaluation prior to presentation of the indicators. We think the time is ripe for deeper examination of AR practice and welcome the associated conversation and critique of our proposed indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The study examines school-based physical activity in investigating teachers' perceptions of a physical activity-related professional development (PD) intervention in New Zealand primary schools. Eighteen semi-structured interviews with six teachers from two schools was the primary data collection method. Using a selected programme, teachers' perceptions were explored prior, immediately after and four months post-intervention. The perceived need to experience practical content was found to be linked to perceptions of confidence and competence in physical activity delivery. This study is one of few to investigate teachers' experience of PD in physical activity. In doing so, it highlights the relationship between experiential learning approaches and perceptions of confidence and competence for teachers, a concept not well articulated within the body of knowledge in this setting. In better understanding this relationship, we argue that policy-makers and primary schools may be better informed about programmes for teachers that impact physical activity outcomes for children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study advances prior theoretical research by investigating the influence of cultural forces in our understanding of leadership. The research provides new insights by linking transformational and transactional leadership to the Malaysian cultural environment. Using a quantitative approach by administering the multifactor leadership questionnaire MLQ-5x-short, 138 usable responses were analysed. Findings indicate that cultural foundations contribute significantly to transformational leadership behaviours to facilitate the creation of a harmonious leader–subordinate relationship. Furthermore, this study contributes to an understanding of how specific leaders' behaviours are affected by cultural forces, and reveals leadership attributes that are contingent upon dynamic environmental conditions. The study extends beyond the obvious, and reveals subtle yet important culture-specific differences. The Malaysian managers, regardless of gender, show a preference for leading within the transformational leadership framework. This has led us to infer that cultural forces do indeed play an important role in determining leadership styles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport governance research is growing in volume and routinely highlights the tension between volunteers and paid professionals in relation to shared leadership, board motivations, and board structures and performance. Using governance as the lens through which progress is viewed, this paper demonstrates sport's transition from an amateur, volunteer-driven pastime to a more business-like sector. Empirically derived data, from a larger action research study examining the strategic capability of New Zealand national sport organisation boards, are integrated with prior research and theoretical developments to exemplify the state of sport governance theory and the sector generally. Outcomes from the review of sport governance research, combined with a selection of results from the study of strategic capability, highlight the challenges associated with volunteer board engagement, given the increasing demands for strategic thinking and action, while also balancing this task with the conformance, policy and operation roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]