'A champion sport off the diamond': An investigation of the interorganisational structure and relationships of softball New Zealand

Abstract

National Sporting Organisations (NSOs) structure interorganisational relationships with their affiliated associations in many different ways. Most NSOs in New Zealand have a number of, usually less than 10, affiliated ‘regional’ associations which may or may not have smaller ‘district’ associations affiliated below. Softball New Zealand is one of only two NSOs in New Zealand that have no regional affiliates as they work directly with over 20 district associations. Despite the increasing number of NSOs moving to a regional structure in the last 15 years, Softball New Zealand has remained the same to date.

This research aims to find out why Softball NZ has not regionalised and what the benefits and drawbacks of a regionalised structure could be. In order to address these questions, it employs two broad theoretical approaches: Governance and interorganisational relationships (IORs). Firstly, NSOs (and the sport management industry in general) are becoming increasingly professionalised, with management moving away from volunteer and amateur ethos towards more corporate orientation (Ferkins & Shilbury, 2010; Yeh & Taylor, 2008). In turn, governance of these organisations has become more professionalised by adopting a board formats and interorganisational structures based on a number of governance practices from the corporate sector. NSOs’ move to a regional structure needs to be located within this context of governance and professionalisation.

Secondly, interorganisational relationships (IORs) is a useful framework to understand the relationships or partnerships between two or more organisations trying to achieve similar goals or mutual benefits by sharing resources, power, information or support with others (Soritiadou, Brouwers, De Bosscher & Cuskelly, 2017). For instance, Ferkins and Shilbury (2010) concluded that board strategic capability was significantly impacted by IORs, as a NSO board could be more effective if it had collaborative partnerships with its regional associations. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted to link sport governance and IORs, especially NSOs’ relationships with regional or district associations.

In order to understand the interorganisational structure and relationships of the NSO with their associations, semi-structured interviews will be conducted with members of the Softball New Zealand community. Research is currently in the initial stages, and data collection and analysis will be completed by November, 2017. It is anticipated that this research will add to the body of knowledge by making a rare link between sport governance and interorganisational relationships with reference to a practical example. It is believed it will also be of use in the sporting sector to assist NSOs in reviewing their relationships with regional affiliates and determining the most appropriate structure for their organisation.