From participation to consumption? Consumerism in voluntary sport clubs

In recent years dark clouds seem to have gathered over the institution of the voluntary sport club. General societal developments such as individualisation and commercialisation have given rise to concerns regarding the transfer of such attitudes to sport clubs. Many people who are involved in and around these clubs increasingly refer to a growing consumerist attitude among members of voluntary sport clubs and are worried that their organisations will have difficulty in overcoming this new challenge. It has been suggested that a consumerist attitude contrasts with the fundamental organising principles of voluntary sport clubs and therefore threatens the future of these organisations. The main focus of this dissertation is to see what a consumerist attitude means in relation to voluntary sport clubs and how voluntary sport clubs deal with this attitude. I therefore have researched the consumerist attitude in the voluntary sport sector on three levels, using a mixed methods research approach. The results of the first part of the study show that the member-consumer is an important figure in Dutch sport policy. Although there is no empirical evidence for an increasing consumerist attitude among members of voluntary sport clubs, sport policy makers do pressure clubs to modernise their activities. The story of the emerging member-consumer hereby clearly has a rhetoric function: because the alarming sound of the threats of consumerism are mixed with the opportunities that modernisation brings, the pressure for clubs to leave behind their ‘association logic’ and develop towards a ‘consumer logic’ is quite big. In the second part of the study I consider the meaning of consumerist attitude in voluntary sport clubs, as seen by people who are directly involved in these clubs. Using their views, I have developed a measurement instrument for consumerism in sport organisations. This instrument contains five dimensions, who together describe the consumerist attitude: 1) Independence, 2) detachment, 3) unsociability, 4) service quality and 5) exit. These five dimensions are all characteristics of the consumerist attitude in sport organisations. They prove to be most visible in commercial sport organisations such as fitness and health centres, but can also be recognised in some voluntary sport clubs. In the third part of this study, I have researched the question how and why voluntary sport clubs change as response to (perceived) consumerism. The data shows that generally there is no evidence of an increasing number of voluntary sport associations becoming more flexible and service-oriented in their membership arrangements. However, there is small number of clubs that have modernised their activities and have developed towards a consumer logic. Contrary to what might be expected, this change does not stem from members’ demand for flexible and service oriented activities. Rather, it is associated with clubs that have a higher degree of external funding (e.g. sponsorship, subsidies), more cooperation with other organisations and who experience more competition in their sport. Moreover, these clubs have younger and higher educated board members, and their boards are more volatile and often have a formal, written policy plan.