Examining social media adoption and change to the stakeholder communication paradigm in not-for-profit sport organizations

Authors

  • Michael L Naraine Deakin University
  • Milena M Parent University of Ottawa & Norwegian School of Sport Sciences

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v3i2.6492

Keywords:

social media, organizational change, national sport organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine social media adoption within not-for-profit sport organizations to illuminate the impetus for change, the type of change undertaken, and change resistance. Using a contextualist approach depicting the external and internal forces as well as the change process, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Canadian national sport organizations (NSO) representing varying degrees of social media presence. The findings suggest that, although social media is espoused as a radical, transformational vehicle, NSOs have only made incremental adjustments to their stakeholder communication and have situated social media within their extant organizational condition due to capacity constraints and resistance from staff and reticent stakeholders. Adopting social media in light of limited organizational capacity thus diminishes the utility of the communications tool. Theoretical and practical implications include how to improve social media-related capacity and the importance of continuing the social media and sport domain’s organizational theory agenda.

Author Biographies

  • Michael L Naraine, Deakin University
    Lecturer (Assistant Professor), Department of Management
  • Milena M Parent, University of Ottawa & Norwegian School of Sport Sciences
    Associate Professor, School of Human Kinetics

References

Amis, J., Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (2004a). Strategic change and the role of interests, power, and organizational capacity. Journal of Sport Management, 18, 158-198.

Amis, J., Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (2004b). The pace, sequence, and linearity of radical change. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 15-39. doi: 10.2307/20159558

Armenakis, A. A., & Bedeian, A. G. (1999). Organizational change: A review of theory and research in the 1990s. Journal of Management, 25, 293-315. doi: 10.1177/014920639902500303

Boeker, W. (1997). Strategic change: The influence of managerial characteristics and organizational growth. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 152-170. doi: 10.2307/257024

Burgelman, R. A. (1991). Intraorganizaitonal ecology of strategy making and organizational adaptation: Theory and field research. Organization Science, 2, 239-262. doi: 10.1287/orsc.2.3.239

Burgers, C. (2016). Conceptualizing change in communication through metaphor. Journal of Communication, 66, 250-265. doi: 10.1111/jcom.12211

Caza, A. (2000). Context receptivity: Innovation in an amateur sport organization. Journal of Sport Management, 14, 227-242.

Charmaz, K. (2014). Constructing grounded theory (2nd ed.). London, England: SAGE.

Cunningham, G. B. (2002). Removing the blinders: Toward an integrative model of organizational change in sport and physical activity. Quest, 54, 276-291. doi: 10.1080/00336297.2002.104917779

Dawson, P. (2003). Reshaping change: A processual perspective. London, England: Routledge.

Eagleman, A. N. (2013). Acceptance, motivations, and usage of social media as a marketing communications tool amongst employees of sport national governing bodies. Sport Management Review, 16, 488-497. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2013.03.004

Filo, K., Lock, D., & Karg, A. (2015). Sport and social media research: A review. Sport Management Review, 18, 166-181. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2014.11.001

Girginov, V., & Sandanski, I. (2008). Understanding the changing nature of sports organisations in transforming societies. Sport Management Review, 11, 21-50. doi: 10.1016/S1441-3523(08)70102-5

Girginov, V., Taks, M., Boucher, B., Martyn, S., Holman, M., & Dixon, J. (2009). Canadian national sport organizations’ use of the web for relationship marketing in promoting sport participation. International Journal of Sport Communication, 2, 164-184.

Greenwood, R., & Hinings, C. R. (1996). Understanding radical organizational change: Bringing together the old and the new institutionalism. Academy of Management Review, 21, 1022-1054.

Hannan, M. T., & Freeman, J. (1984). Structural inertia and organizational change. American Sociological Review, 49, 149-164.

Hill, L., & Kikulis, L. M. (1999). Contemplating restricting: A case study of strategic decision making in interuniversity athletic conferences. Journal of Sport Management, 13, 18-44.

Isabella, L. A. (1990). Evolving interpretations as a change unfolds: How managers construe key organizational events. Academy of Management Journal, 33, 7-41. doi: 10.2307/256350

Jaffe, D., Scott, C., & Tobe, G. (1994). Rekindling commitment: How to revitalize yourself, your work, and your organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2010). Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of social media. Business Horizons, 53, 59-68. doi: 10.1016/j.bushor.2009.09.003

Kikulis, L. M. (2000). Continuity and change in governance and decision making in national sport organizations: Institutional explanations. Journal of Sport Management, 14, 293-320.

Kikulis, L. M., Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (1995a). Sector-specific patterns of organizational design change. Journal of Management Studies, 32, 67-100. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1995.tb00646.x

Kikulis, L. M., Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (1995b). Toward an understanding of the role of agency and choice in the changing structure of Canada’s national sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 9, 135-152.

Kikulis, L. M., Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (1995c). Does decision making make a difference? Patterns of change within Canadian national sport organizations. Journal of Sport Management, 9, 273-299.

Kimberly, J. R. (1980). The life cycle analogy and the study of organizations: Introduction. In J. R. Kimberly, & R. H. Miles (Eds.), The organizational life cycle (pp. 1-14). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Legg, J., Snelgrove, R., & Wood, L. (2016). Modifying tradition: Examining organizational change in youth sport. Journal of Sport Management, 30, 369-381. doi: 10.1123/jsm.2015-0075

Miller, D., Greenwood, R., & Hinings, B. (1997). Creative chaos versus munificent momentum: The schism between normative and academic views of organizational change. Journal of Management, 6, 71-78. doi: 10.1177/105649269761014

Misener, K., & Doherty, A. (2009). A case study of organizational capacity in nonprofit community sport. Journal of Sport Management, 23, 457-482.

Naraine, M. L., & Parent, M. M. (2016). “Birds of the same feather:” An institutional approach to Canadian national sport organizations’ social media usage. International Journal of Sport Communication, 9, 140-162. doi: 10.1123/IJSC.2016-0010

O’Brien, D., & Slack, T. (2004). The emergence of a professional logic in English Rugby Union: The role of isomorphic and diffusion processes. Journal of Sport Management, 18, 13-39.

Pettigrew, A. M. (1987). Context and action in the transformation of the firm. Journal of Management Studies, 24, 649-668. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1987.tb00467.x

Pettigrew, A.M., Woodman, R. W., & Cameron, K. S. (2001). Studying organizational change and development: Challenges for future research. Academy of Management Journal, 44, 697-713. doi: 10.2307/3069411

Pfeffer, J., & Salancik, G. (1978). The external control of organizations: A resource-dependence perspective. New York, NY: Harper & Row.

Shimizu, K., & Hitt, M. A. (2005). What constrains or facilitates divestitures of formerly acquired firms? The effects of organizational inertia. Journal of Management ,31, 50-72. doi: 10.1177/0149206304271381

Skinner, J., Stewart, B., & Edwards, E. (1999). Amateurism to professionalism: Modelling organisational change in sporting organisations. Sport Management Review, 2, 173-192. doi: 10.1016/S1441-3523(99)70095-1

Skirstad, B. (2009). Gender policy and organizational change: A contextual approach. Sport Management Review, 12, 202-216. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2009.03.003

Suddaby, R., & Foster, W. M. (2016). History and organizational change. Journal of Management (advance online publication). doi: 10.1177/0149206316675031

Slack, T., & Hinings, C. R. (1992). Understanding change in national sport organizations: An integration of theoretical perspectives. Journal of Sport Management, 6, 114-132.

Slack, T., & Parent, M. M. (2006). Understanding sport organizations: The application of organization theory (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

Stronach, M., & Adair, D. (2009). ‘Brave new world’ or ‘sticky wicket’? Women, management and organizational power in Cricket Australia. Sport in Society, 12, 910-932. doi: 10.1080/17430430903053174

Thibault, L., & Babiak, K. (2005). Organisational changes in Canada’s sport system: Toward an athlete-centred approach. European Sport Management Quarterly, 5, 105-132. doi: 10.1080/16184740500188623

Thompson, A. J., Martin, A. J., Gee, S., & Eagleman, A. N. (2014). Examining the development of a social media strategy for a national sport organization: A case study of Tennis New Zealand. Journal of Applied Sport Management, 6, 42-63.

Tushman, M. L., & O’Reilly, C. A. (1996). The ambidextrous organizations: Managing evolutionary and revolutionary change. California Management Review, 38, 8-30. doi: 10.2307/41165852

Waters, R. D., Burke, K. A., Jackson, Z. H., & Buning, J. D. (2011). Using stewardship to cultivate fandom online: Comparing how National Football League teams use their web sites and Facebook to engage their fans. International Journal of Sport Communication, 4, 163-177.

Wells, K. J. (2016). Work-family initiatives from an organizational change lens. In T. D. Allen & L. T. Eby (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of work and family (pp. 215-228). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Welty Peachey, J., & Bruening, J. (2011). An examination of environmental factors driving change and stakeholder responses in a Football Championships Subdivision athletic department. Sport Management Review, 14, 202-219. doi: 10.1016/j.smr.2010.03.002

Williams, J., & Chinn, S. J. (2010). Meeting relationship-marketing goals through social media: A conceptual model for sport marketers. International Journal of Sport Communication, 3, 422-437.

Yi, S., Knudsen, T., & Becker, M. C. (2016). Inertia in routines: A hidden source of organizational variation. Organization Science, 27, 782-800. doi: 10.1287/orsc.2016.1059

Ybema, S., Thomas, R., & Hardy, C. (2016). Organizational change and resistance: An identity perspective. In D. Courpasson, & S. Vallas (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of resistance (pp. 386-404). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Zakus, D. H., & Skinner, J. (2008). Modelling organizational change in the International Olympic Committee. European Sport Management Quarterly, 8, 421-442. doi: 10.1080/16184740802461660

Downloads

Published

2017-07-25

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Naraine, M. L., & Parent, M. M. (2017). Examining social media adoption and change to the stakeholder communication paradigm in not-for-profit sport organizations. Journal of Amateur Sport, 3(2), 55-81. https://doi.org/10.17161/jas.v3i2.6492