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Recognizing the importance of timing in efforts to drive institutional change, this study examined how actors engage in "temporal institutional work" in their attempts to disrupt inequitable institutions in sport. A qualitative case study was conducted on football (soccer) in Australia wherein significant gender equity reforms have been enacted. The findings revealed how the temporal activities of entraining (e.g., capitalizing on external interventions), constructing urgency (e.g., through advocacy), and enacting momentum (e.g., through consensus-based leadership) allowed actors to exploit a time-sensitive window of opportunity for change, quickly foster a perception of irreversibility that structural change would occur, and generate synchronicity with broader reforms. Inspired by the breakthroughs in Australian football, this research highlights temporal-based strategies for combating gender inequity in sport. Theoretically, this study extends research on institutional work in sport by illuminating the key role that timing norms play during institutional change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined board composition in national sport federations (NSF) in the BRICS group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). BRICS is a significant geopolitical group with a strong history and interest in sport, yet there has been relatively limited sport governance research in this context. Specifically, this study measured levels of board diversity (occupational and gender) and board size in the NSFs – factors that are widely considered to impact board effectiveness. Data were collected on 184 NSFs across the five countries from online sources. The results showed that across the BRICS countries NSF directors largely come from athletic backgrounds (45.1% of total), except for China where bureaucrats prevail (61.9%). Men dominate NSF board positions, from a high of 92.1% in India to 68.4% in South Africa. Board size ranged from 20.4 in India, to 14.2 in South Africa. This study brings sport governance research to new frontiers by generating insight into board composition in contexts that are under-researched and culturally diverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to analyse the composition of national sport federation (NSF) boards in Australia, India, South Africa, the UK and the USA. Specifically, this research assessed board size, occupational diversity and gender diversity, which are theorised to influence board performance. This study employed a positivist descriptive research approach and gathered data from online secondary sources. In total, board composition data was collected on 253 NSFs across five countries, which equated to 2937 directors. The results showed that the average board size in Indian NSFs (19.5 directors) is larger than in the sampled Western countries (on average between 7.2 and 14.2 directors). The occupational background of directors in Australia and the UK is similar, with a strong degree of business involvement (61% and 67%, respectively). Compared to Australia and the UK, India, South Africa and the USA have a larger proportion of directors from sporting backgrounds. Indian NSFs have a relatively significant number of politicians (16%) and few (7%) women on their boards compared to the Western countries. This study provides empirical evidence to support sport governance policy processes. This research contributes to the sport governance literature by showing the extent to which NSFs are adopting good governance standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research was to examine the drivers and barriers of governance convergence in Indian sport. Governance convergence is defined as the adoption of four principles of good governance that are common in Western sport contexts—transparency, accountability, democracy, and social responsibility. To achieve the aim, a theoretical framework consisting of three interconnected levels—(a) the historically grown national institutional framework, (b) organizational field, and (c) organizational actors—was proposed, drawing primarily on institutional theory. A qualitative approach was used to empirically test the framework in the Indian sport context, where governance has been of key concern. The findings show that the framework is an effective tool for understanding the drivers and barriers of convergence with the defined principles of good governance. The development of this framework is important, given the link between the principles and positive organizational outcomes. [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]

This article reports on proof-of-concept experimental work carried out to demonstrate a wideband vibro-impacting energy harvesting approach based on a magnet/bearing arrangement coupled with a magnetoelectric transducer. The harvesting arrangement uses a Terfenol-D/Pz27 laminate transducer (disc with radius 5 mm) positioned between an oscillating spherical chrome-steel bearing and a rare earth magnet. The oscillating bearing steers magnetic field through the magnetoelectric transducer, generating an oscillating charge that can be harvested. A vibro-impacting arrangement between the oscillating bearing (radius 12.7 mm) and a pair of aluminium mechanical stops is designed to produce a wideband frequency response. For a 434 mG host acceleration, the vibro-impact mechanism produced a bandwidth of ∼7.2 Hz (between 6 and ∼13.2 Hz). The issue of damage to the mechanical stops caused by the vibro-impacting process is also explored and was demonstrated experimentally and theoretically to be inconsequential. This non-optimized wideband harvesting approach has demonstrated a generated power of 3.3 µW from a root mean square host acceleration of 180 m-g at 8.0 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]