نبذة مختصرة : Title: ORGANISATIONAL GOVERNANCE: A PRAXIOGRAPHY OF THREE (UK) VOLUNTARY SPORTS CLUBS Author: Presenter: Christopher Neil Gunn University of Central Lancashire Submission: 2021 Conference Abstract 1. Research Questions & Aim: The dearth of empirical governance research at grassroots level (King, 2017), particularly in the UK, combined with evidence that local clubs are encountering a more challenging environment, led to questions: how are voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) governed?; what do they do when governing?; and, how best to open up the ‘black box’ to gather empirical evidence? The research aim was to better understand local sports clubs’ governance. 2. Theoretical Background & Literature Review Recent application of social practice theory (SPT) to diverse organisational phenomena has produced positive empirical and epistemological outcomes (Hui et al., 2017). Organisational governance (OG) research’s reliance upon a limited theoretical range, producing narrow, limited analyses (Smallman, 2007), suggests it may also benefit. Schatzki’s concepts of practice-as-entity, and constituent elements, and practice-as-performance, supplemented by others from Nicolini and Whittington, were utilised. These formed a comprehensive theoretical framework. Practice approaches are considered particularly suitable for study of the everyday, in its social, affective and material context; as Whittington (2011) says, SPT ‘responds well to the realities reported back from the field’ (p. 184). Many sport OG studies prioritise larger or more commercial organisational entities. Some have addressed the smaller, highly significant grassroots context (VSCs), but there is minimal empirical academic evidence of local clubs’ actual governing practices. Discernible across much extant research, and the myriad published codes of governance, is prescription of a more professional and corporate approach. Smith (2009) partly demonstrates this in a study of Swedish riding schools which did incorporate non-profit variants; although, ...
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