Sport Forum, 27-28 April 2015, IMD Lausanne

Changes in Society

Towards a sports governing bodies « corporate » social

responsibility: a focus on para-sport

FEI – Para-Equestrian Forum

21 March 2015
Essen (D)

Prof. Thierry Zintz,

UCL - BOIC
 Plan

1. Governing a sport organization. What’s in a name?

2. Understanding the main challenges of governance in sport
organizations
3. Behind governance: the social responsibility of sport
organizations
4. Architecture and drivers of governance in Olympic sport
organizations
5. Failures … the other side of the coin
6. To conclude: some perspectives
 1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?

Governance? What’s in a name ?

An old word(16th Century)

A concept in Social sciences since the 1990’
The concept was invented in the private sector in order to protect the
shareholders

Organizational or Corporate Governance

The World Bank imponed this concept to public authorities

Political or Democratic Governance

1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?

The Governing Body Cycle

(from Co-operatives UK, 2005)
 1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?

Corporate world: strategic management

World of sport organizations

Prior to the 1990’s Since the 1990’s

Environnement: stable and Environnement: unstable
no complexity and more complex

Reactive management: Proactive management :

Day to day management Strategic management
 1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?

Lessons from the strategic management theory

Managing complexity (and uncertainty) resulting from ambigious

and unforeseen situations »

•Strategic diagnostic to determine the strategic position of the

company,
•Strategic choices whereo ne has to analyze possible options and to
choose the right one(s)
•Strategic actions where one has to operate the selected strategy and to
manage change
 1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?

Loret, 1999 – Zintz, Camy, 2005

Traditional popular Academic
Ascendance

Gymnastics Outdoor
Games Arts activities

Olympic Movement
1880-1980 International Sport Federations

1 2 3
Professionalized Competition Leisure
Sports Sports Sports
Descendance

Economic purpose Public purpose Playing purpose

Ligues pro, G14, Olympic Movement Just

Closed Championships Do it

3 organisational models for

contemporary sport organizations
 1. Governing a sport organization.
What’s in a name?
Pérez’s model of corporate governance (2003)

Level 5 Governance: Overall constitutional / societal frame?

Metagouvernance

Level 4 Governance: Can decisions be appealed?

Governance of governance

Level 3 Governance: Who controls the controllers?

Management of governance

Level 2 Governance: How is management controlled?

Management of Management

Level 1 Governance: How is it managed on a daily basis?

Management Chappelet, 2012
 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

External systme

Actor
Interests
Strategies Cooperation

Action
Power Uncertainty
Organization Negociation
« Internal system » Organization

Understanding the environnement

 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Olympic Sport Organizations

FNs
CNOs COJOs Clubs

CIO FIs

All these actors are non profit organisations and mostly

associations under the law of the country of their
headquarters

Chappelet, 2012
2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Understanding the environnement

 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations
Environmental

NF IOC IF
Distant
Clubs Professional Spectators audience
Providers leagues
Professionals
Pratice Events OC Volunteers
athlete
Unpaid staff

Paid staff Members Participants Marketing

agencies

Media Facilities
Sponsors
managers
Sporting activities market

Social Understanding micro- and

Economic
meso-environnement
Ferrand, Zintz
et all. 2011
 Environmental

Business Financials Tourism Third parties

governing bodies governing bodies, institutions, governing bodies (opinion leaders) and
and entrepreneurs shareholders, analysts and entrepreneurs customer referrals
and entrepreneurs
Health
governing bodies Education
and organisations governing bodies
and organisations

Social
governing bodies Understanding macro-environnement Customers
and organisations

Environmental
governing bodies Public
and organisations opinion

Social Government Local European Economic

authorities community
Issue User
community groups Ferrand, Zintz
Environment et all. 2011
2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Henry’s model (2004) of sport governance

Adapted from Leftwich (1994) and Arcioni (2002)

Systemic Governance
Rules of competition, cooperation and mutual adjustment
between parties involved in the production of sport

Political Governance
Corporate Governance
Steering mechanisms by
Normative approach to
governments and sport
Managerial behaviour
governing bodies
of sport organisations
to achieve goals
2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Pérez’s model adapted to the Olympic System

5
IOC Metagovernance
Swiss TF and international courts

4
Governance of IOC governance
National courts, WADA & CAS How is the
Olympic
3 System
Management of IOC governance governed
Nominations, Athletes & Ethics Commis. beyond
the Olympic
Charter?
2
Management of IOC Management
Session, Executive Board, Commissions

Chappelet, 2012
1
IOC Management
IOC President with IOC Administration
 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Olympic Charter 2011, fundamental principle n°5:

“Recognising that sport occurs within the framework of society, sports

organisations within the Olympic Movement shall have the rights
and obligations of autonomy, which include freely establishing and
controlling the rules of sport, determining the structure
and governance of their organisations, enjoying the right of elections
free from any outside influence and the responsibility for ensuring
that principles of good governance be applied".
 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance for the Sport

Movement

1. Vision, mission and strategy

2. Structures, regulations and democratic process
3. Highest level of competence, integrity and ethical standards
4. Accountability, transparency and control
5. Solidarity and development
6. Athletes’ involvement, participation and care
7. Harmonious relations with governments while preserving autonomy

Adopted by the Olympic Congress Copenhagen 2009,

Incorporated in the Ethical code of IOC in 2010
And in the Olympic Charter in 2011
 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

Autonomy requests good governance

Résolution du deuxième Séminaire sur l’Autonomie du Mouvement

Olympique et Sportif (Lausanne, 02/2008)

… De rappeler que l’Autonomie du Mouvement Olympique et Sportif

est essentielle pour le développement du sport et la promotion de ses
valeurs, au bénéfice de tous les athlètes. …

De souligner que la Bonne Gouvernance est le fondement de

l’Autonomie des organisations Olympiques et sportives et de s’assurere
que cette Autonomie est respectée par nos parties prenantes.

D’apporter un soutien de principe au document “draft” intitulé “Principes de

base universels de bonne gouvernance du Mouvement Olympique et
sportif …
 2. Understanding the main challenges
of governance in sport organizations

This system is under pressure !

The The The

Business Olympic Public
World System Sector

Corporate Olympic Democratic

Governance Governance? Governance

Chappelet, 2012

| 21 |
 3. Behind governance:
the social
responsibility of sport organizations

"The IOC and the sports movement in general have a

social responsibility - to provide access to sports practice,
and in so doing to spread the values of sport to all
sections of society." Jacques Rogge (IOC website)
The social responsibility
of sport organizations
The social responsibility
of sport organizations
The social responsibility
of sport organizations
 4. Architecture and drivers of governance and
societal responsibility in Olympic sport organizations

TFEU – Article 165

Contribute to the promotion of Develop a European dimension

European sporting issues while in sport by:
taking account of:

Promoting
Structures Social and Promoting Protecting
Specific cooperation
fairness and the physical
based on educational between
nature of openness in
bodies
and moral
voluntary function of sporting integrity of
sport responsible
activity sport competitions sportspeople
for sports

Foster relations with third countries and competent

international sport organisations
CoE IOC WADA …
Pedro Velasquez,
EC, DG Education, Youth and
Sport, 2013
5. Failures … the other side
of the coin

Fight against corruption

Fight against gigantism of the Games
Fight against doping
Fight against (illegal) betting
Fight against match fixing

Violence, racism, all form of harassment

Henry’s model (2004) of

sport governance
adapted from Leftwich (1994)
Systemic Governance
Rules of competition, cooperation and mutual adjustment Arcioni, 2002
between parties involved in the production of sport

Political Governance
Corporate Governance
Steering mechanisms by
Normative approach to
governments and sport
Managerial behaviour
governing bodies
of sport organisations
to achieve goals
 6. To conclude:
some perspectives

New
1 2
governance

Understanding Conducting
the process of change the process of change

Volunteer board 5 major areas

Governance tools

Organization’s goals Missions, as conditions

Stakeholders Organisation
Shareholders MHR
Deciders Support
Relation whith pertinent
environnement

Think global, act local

 Clarification of five major areas for a new governance (1)
1.Missions

Governance strategies => Missions / Environnement

•Core-business ?
•Diversification ?
•Multi-dimensional business?
2.Organisation
Flat organigramme (instead of vertical) => operationality, adaptability,
fonctionnality, impacting missions
3.HRM
•Adjustment betwwen competencies and functions for paid staff and
volunteers within the board
•Supporting - educating (motivation)
 Clarification of five major areas for a new governance (2)

4.Support

Supporting associations requests 1. Mutualized

•A variety of services services,
•A variety of strategies 2. Tools

5.Relation to pertinent environment

•Information systems The project of sport

•Internal and external audits organizations is more
•Labellisation than a sport project
•Strategic contracts
 5 dimensions of a
renewed governance
A new paradigm

Professionalization

« Les organisations sportives,

traditionnellement impliquées dans
des activités dites de non-profit, sont de
plus en plus tenues pour
responsables de l’utilisation qu’elles font A new corporate governance
des subventions publiques et de and CSR
l’affectation des for sport organizations
ressources qu’elles obtiennent de leurs
membres et de leurs partenaires.
Il en résulte
une évolution incontournable vers plus de
professionnalisation »

Turner,
in Beech& Cahdwick,
2007
 6. To conclude :
some perspectives….

And concreet initiatives

2013

5 projects financed by the European Union in the famework of « Preparatory Actions »

Governance and Grassroot Sport: ISCA

Sport for Good Governance: COE
Sport Governance Observer: Play the Game
Supporters Direct
Sport & Recreation Alliance
Recent initiatives linked to governance and CSR of sport organizations
granted by the European Union
 « Avant de penser le changement,
il faut changer la pensée »

D’après Henri Bergson

« La véritable découverte du voyage ne consiste pas à

trouver de nouveaux territoires mais d’avoir un
nouveau regard »

Marcel Proust
 Thank you for your
attention!

Thierry Zintz
Thierry.Zintz@uclouvain.be

@ThierryZintz

Université catholique de Louvain

Chaire Olympique Henri de Baillet Latour & Jacques Rogge

en Management des organisations sportives
http://www.uclouvain.be/chaire-olympique
Sport Forum, 27-28 April 2015, IMD Lausanne