Constraints and Strategies to Scaling Up in Sport for Development and Peace Organizations: Evidence From the Field

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore and examine the constraints faced by managers as they attempt to scale up their sport for development and peace (SDP) organizations, and to identify the strategies they are employing to mitigate these constraints. Previous research has not examined constraints to scaling up in the SDP nonprofit space. Findings revealed three major themes related to challenges within four types of scaling up (quantitative, functional, political, organizational); skepticism about sport as a development tool, funding challenges leading to an entrepreneurial mind-set, and challenges associated with a general lack of business acumen among key leaders. Within each of these three themes, strategies for addressing these constraints are illuminated. These constraints and strategies are positioned within the broader nonprofit context, and theoretical and practical implications for scaling up SDP organizations are also explicated.

Antecedents and outcomes of employee engagement in sport for development

“…Moreover, the current study also extends the literature on turnover intentions among SFD staff (Svensson et al, , 2018Welty Peachey & Cohen, 2016;Welty Peachey et al, 2020). For example, by highlighting the negative relationship between employee engagement and intention to turnover.…”

“…Empirical support was also provided for a significant relationship between employee engagement and innovative work behavior. Recent years have seen an increased emphasis on the need for SFD staff to become more entrepreneurial and innovative in response to funding challenges and local needs (Svensson Andersson et al, 2020;Welty Peachey et al, 2020). A key takeaway from the data analyzed in this study is that engaged employees were associated with higher scores of innovative work behavior, providing empirical support for employee engagement theory (cf.…”

“…These findings build on prior scholarship around work engagement and voluntary turnover among nonprofit volunteers (Alfes et al, 2016) and provided insight regarding a broader conceptualization of engagement as well as drivers of voluntary turnover among employees. Finding ways to better support employees remain critical for addressing the high levels of staff burnout and stress found in the nonprofit sector (Nonprofit HR., 2017), and specifically reported by leaders of SFD nonprofits Welty Peachey et al, 2020). The model presented in this study provides empirical support for a non-financial strategy that SFD leaders can utilize to minimize voluntary turnover by developing workplace cultures that influence higher levels of employee engagement (Selden & Sowa, 2015).…”

A Desire for Growth? An Exploratory Study of Growth Aspirations Among Nascent Nonprofit Entrepreneurs

“…However, as this research note has sought to communicate, nonprofit growth is a multifaceted phenomenon that involves much more beyond just answering how much and how to. Indeed, there are examples of emerging research efforts seeking to advance our understanding of nonprofit growth by (see, for example, Moore et al, 2015; Peachey et al, 2019; Tykkyläinen, 2019), yet more conceptual and empirical scholarship is needed to begin accumulating generalizable knowledge.…”

“…Even though this research note argues that growth aspirations of nascent nonprofit entrepreneurs are key for comprehending nonprofit growth, it is vital to recognize there are multiple additional internal and external factors (e.g., access to/control over capital, managerial capacity, environmental munificence, formal institutions) that are also likely to influence the actual growth of a new and/or small nonprofit (Kim & Kim, 2018; Peachey et al, 2020).…”