Theses on Sports Governance and Events
Louise Hiort af Ornäs and Petter Aasa (2020)
Abstract: The aim of this study is to understand how an elite football club accommodates environmental uncertainties and dependencies on internal and external stakeholders. We explore this phenomenon by conducting a qualitative single-case study. Although a great deal of research has been conducted in the field of corporate governance, little research examines how sports organizations operate within these parameters to balance the cultural and commercial aspects of their organization while complying with the demands of members, supporter groups, and corporate partners.
This study contributes to the field of corporate governance by analysing a Swedish football club through the lens of resource dependency, stakeholder theory, and strategic alliances. It also contributes to ongoing research on how hybrid sports organizations structure their internal organization to adapt to uncertainty and stakeholder dependencies to gain a competitive advantage within the sports league. We find that members' power directly increases the uncertainty faced by the club. Their influence causes high turnover in both the board of directors and top executive management. This, in turn, negatively affects the club, as executives prioritize short-term initiatives to satisfy members rather than focusing on long-term strategies, sustainable initiatives, and performance and financial success.
Anna Sandäng and Eric Karlsson (2019)
Abstract: In this thesis, we examine the legitimizing role of accounting in a public debate. We draw on a case study of Sweden's candidacy to host the 2026 Winter Olympics, in which the budget for the Games played a central yet problematic role. The Olympic candidacy proved to be a complex process, characterized by competing interests, power dynamics, and low initial confidence in the budget. Building on the legitimacy process framework by Patriotta et al. (2011), we apply the concept of orders of worth to analyse the public debate and conceptualize the role of accounting in the legitimization process.
We find that the role of accounting, and the factors influencing it, differ between stages of the legitimization process. More specifically, differing mobilizations of orders of worth affect an organization's ability to legitimize a project to different stakeholders using accounting. We also show that the quality of current and past budgets plays a role in the legitimization process. We term this historical bias against accounting the "broken environment," as it affected the Swedish Olympic Committee's ability to legitimize the candidacy using the budget. This, in turn, influenced both the role of accounting and the overall legitimization process.
Carl Lundborg and Matilda Ward (2017)
Abstract: The Swedish government aims to host more international sports events to strengthen Sweden's position as an attractive destination for a global audience. To host such events in Swedish municipalities, local politicians must typically approve the arrangement in the municipal council. The purpose of this study is to examine empirically the factors that influence local politicians' decision-making regarding hosting international sports events. Two studies were conducted: one qualitative and one quantitative. The qualitative study identified stakeholder groups and assessed their salience from the perspective of local politicians.
The results revealed eight stakeholder groups, with destination companies and local sports associations having the highest salience. The qualitative study also provided insights into the context and dynamics preceding decisions. These insights informed the quantitative study, which examined factors influencing decision acceptance, resource allocation, confidence in decisions, and perceived risk. The quantitative study tested factors previously shown to influence decision-making: familiarity (experience and knowledge), affect (liking), and evaluation criteria (social, economic, environmental, image, and tourism effects). Additional factors related to characteristics of municipalities and politicians were also explored. The findings show that politicians with greater knowledge of sports events or a stronger interest in sports are more likely to support hosting decisions. They also feel more confident in their decisions. The perceived importance of the event's impact on the municipality's image influences decision acceptance.
Keys to football success (BSc)
Joakim Kjeller (2015)
Abstract: Despite the popularity of football, few studies have examined which external factors influence the likelihood of becoming a successful football city in Sweden. This thesis presents a statistical study using a fixed-effects model covering all Swedish municipalities from 2003 to 2012 to identify key external factors affecting football performance. Performance is measured by points in Allsvenskan, Sweden's top football division, and explanatory variables are based on previous research. The results show that successful football cities typically have a recent history of strong performance, suggesting limited turnover among municipalities represented in Allsvenskan. Higher levels of education also have a small positive effect on football performance. Competition from another team in Allsvenskan within the same county, but from a different municipality, has a small negative effect.
Louise Karlsson (2014)
Abstract: Management control systems (MCS) are common in most organizations, yet few studies explore their function in sport event organizations. This paper addresses this gap by examining how such organizations apply MCS and how these systems are affected by the pulsating nature of operations and stakeholder relationships. A multiple case study of six Swedish sport event organizations forms the basis of the analysis. A broad perspective on management control, including both informal and formal controls, and the framework by Malmi and Brown (2008) are used to identify control elements. The distinction between participator and spectator events, as well as stakeholder perspectives and the concept of the pulsating organization, enhances understanding of MCS in this context. The findings suggest that stakeholder influence on MCS varies depending on stakeholder characteristics. Action planning emerges as a key control element that helps organizations manage the inherent pulsating nature of their operations.