Phase 1: Building the foundations (2011-2015)
The first phase of the Center for Sports and Business began with the launch of the Management Diploma for Athletes in 2011. These early initiatives at the Stockholm School of Economics laid out the foundation for research, education, and collaboration in the field of sports and business.
The Management Diploma for Athletes
The launch of the Management Diploma for Athletes (MDA) marked the beginning of a structured engagement with sports and business at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE). Initiated in 2011, the program was a collaboration between SSE Executive Education and the Johan Cruyff Institute. Although SSE had offered admissions through a special “merits” track for elite athletes for more than 30 years, there had previously been no dedicated courses or research focused on the intersection of sports and business. The MDA became the first formal educational program in this field.
In terms of content, the MDA resembled a mini-MBA. Structured similarly to an Executive MBA, the program included courses in strategy, marketing, leadership, and accounting. It spanned 30 days and was typically delivered in two-day modules. By 2024, the program had reached its tenth cohort (MDA 10). Throughout its development, Anders Sewerin and Peter Rovér played central roles as program leaders and contributed significantly to the program’s success.
Commercial and nonprofit tensions in sport
Looking back, the MDA program proved to be an important source of inspiration. Through conversations with elite athletes, a recurring theme emerged: the tension between commercial and nonprofit logics in sport. While athletes expressed strong passion for their disciplines, there were clear financial differences. Male hockey and football players could often secure substantial earnings during their careers, while many top-performing female athletes struggled financially despite competing internationally at the highest level.
Discussions also revealed how different sports responded to commercialization. Some embraced business models and corporate partnerships, while others raised concerns that commercialization could affect the values and identity of the sport.
Executive education for sports leaders
In 2014, SSE Executive Education received an opportunity when Trygghetsrådet TRS decided to fund executive education programs for club presidents in Swedish football and hockey. TRS is a foundation that supports professionals transitioning to new careers after layoffs. Since club presidents and CEOs in sports organizations are often dismissed, TRS considered it relevant to invest in their professional development. The program was led by Gunnar Westling, a former SSE PhD graduate and SSE Executive Education staff member, who played a key role in initiating the collaboration with TRS and managing the program.
Early research on hybrid sports organizations
The relationships formed during these early initiatives laid the groundwork for several research projects with a focus on institutional complexity and hybrid organizational forms. A central research question emerged: how do organizations such as publicly listed football clubs, for example AIK Football, manage tensions between commercial and nonprofit logics? What role do accounting, and management control systems play in navigating these tensions?
To explore these questions, the team began supervising MSc theses, which served as an important way to collect empirical data and develop a deeper understanding of hybrid organizational dynamics.