The Structural Characteristics of Sport Organisations: Differentiation within Elite Spanish Professional Football Clubs

16 Pages Posted: 19 Sep 2008

See all articles by Sandalio Gomez

Sandalio Gomez

University of Navarra, IESE Business School

Carlos Marti

IESE Business School - University of Navarra

Magdalena Opazo

University of Navarra, IESE Business School

Date Written: May 1, 2008

Abstract

The principal task of a professional football (soccer) club is to form a competitive team that participates in official competitions and achieves the sporting successes expected by its members and fans. This fundamental task constitutes the system which, in relation with its environment, defines subsystems in order to respond efficiently to the contextual challenges faced by the organization. Among these, the processes of professionalization and commercialization have particularly affected sports organizations. The most important subsystems distinguished by a club in Spanish professional football are: sport, communication, external relations, commerce, finance, wealth management, marketing, facilities, and legal and social affairs. All these areas are related to the accomplishment of the above-mentioned main task and some of them can be associated with the organizations' structural response to the challenges of professionalization and commercialization.

Keywords: Football clubs, Spain, structural characteristics, differentiation

Suggested Citation

Gomez, Sandalio and Marti, Carlos and Opazo, Magdalena, The Structural Characteristics of Sport Organisations: Differentiation within Elite Spanish Professional Football Clubs (May 1, 2008). IESE Business School Working Paper No. WP-751, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1269332 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1269332

Sandalio Gomez (Contact Author)

University of Navarra, IESE Business School ( email )

Avenida Pearson 21
Barcelona, 08034
Spain

Carlos Marti

IESE Business School - University of Navarra ( email )

Carrerera del Cerro del Águila, 3
28023 Madrid, Madrid
Spain
912113000 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.iese.edu

Magdalena Opazo

University of Navarra, IESE Business School ( email )

Avenida Pearson 21
Barcelona, 08034
Spain

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
676
Abstract Views
2,855
Rank
71,287
PlumX Metrics