Abstract
The mass media, politicians, and social scientists assert that there are increasing problems in recruiting volunteers to voluntary organizations. This paper investigates the situation with respect to voluntary sport organizations in a Norwegian context. The situation for voluntary and paid work is described and discussed with respect to different kinds of sport organizations. The empirical results show that voluntary work still is the foundation of most sport organizations, but that there are large differences between various types of organizations, and that voluntary work functions in complex interaction with other important economic and structural features of these organizations.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Arnold, P. J. (1992). Sport as a valued human practice: A basis for the consideration of some moral issues in sport. J. Philos. Educ. 26: 237-256.
Breivik, G. (1998). Sport in high modernity: Sport as a carrier of social values. J. Philos. Sport 25: 103-118.
Cachay, K., and Thiel, A. (2000). Soziologie des Sports, Juventa, Weinheim.
Coakley, J. (2001). Sport in Society: Issues & Controversies, McGraw-Hill, Boston.
Curtis, J. E., Baer, D. E., and Grabb, E. G. (2001). Nations of joiners: Explaining voluntary association membership in democratic societies. Am. Sociol. Rev. 66: 783-805.
Dierker, H., and Wadsack, R. (2000). Ehrenamt: Chancen und Probleme. DVS-Inf. 15: 9-14.
Dietrich, K., and Heinemann, K. (eds.) (1999). Der Nicht-Sportliche Sport, XOX Verlag, Jesteburg.
Douglas, J. (1987). Political theories of nonprofit organizations. In: Powell, W. (ed.), The Nonprofit Sector. A Research Handbook, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Dølvik, J. E. (1990). Idrett, fritid og organisering [Sport, leisure, and organization], Oslo, FAFO-rapport nr. 99, Oslo, Norway.
Elias, N., and Dunning, E. (1986). Quest for Excitement, Blackwell, Oxford.
Enjolras, B. (2001). Community-Based Economy, Market and Democracy, Report 6, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway.
Enjolras, B., and Seippel, Ø. (2001). Norske idrettslag 2000: Struktur, økonomi og frivillig innsats [Norwegian Sport Organizations 2000: Structure, economy, and volunteering], Report 4, Institute for Social Research, Oslo, Norway.
Goksøyr, M. (1994). Norway and the World Cup: Cultural diffusion, sportification and sport as a vehicle for nationalism. In: Sugden, J., and Tomlinson, A. (eds.), Hosts and Champions: Soccer Cultures, National Identities and the USA World Cup, Arena, Aldershot, UK.
Goksøyr, M. (1998). The popular sounding board: Nationalism, “the people” and sport in Norway in the inter-war years. In: Meinander, H., and Mangan, J. A. (eds.), The Nordic World: Sport in Society, Frank Cass, London.
Gutmann, A. (ed.) (1998). Freedom of Association, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Habermas, J. (1987). The Theory of Communicative Action. Vol. 2. Lifeworld and System: A Critique of Functionalist Reason, Beacon Press, Boston.
Hansmann, H. (1987). Economic theories of nonprofit organization. In: Powell, W. (ed.), The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook, Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Harris, J. C. (1998). Civil society, physical activity, and the involvement of sport sociologists in the preparation of physical activity professionals. Sociol. Sport J. 15: 138-153.
Hartmann-Tews, I. (1999). Von der Passion zur Profession? Die Entwicklung sport-bezogener Berufe in Licht soziologischer Theoriebildung. In: Hartmann-Tews, I. (ed.), Professionalisierung und Sport, Czwalina Verlag, Hamburg, Germany.
Heinemann, K. (ed.) (1999). Sport Clubs in Various European Countries, Hofmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.
Heinemann, K., and Schubert, M. (1992). Ehrenamtlichkeit und Hauptamtlichkeit in Sportverein, Verlag Karl Hofmann, Schorndorf.
Heinemann, K., and Schubert, M. (1994). Der Sportverein. Ergebnisse einer reprasentativen Untersuchung, Verlag Karl Hofmann, Schorndorf.
Hirschman, A. O. (1970). Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Horch, H. (1994a). On the socio-economics of voluntary organizations. Voluntas 5: 219-230.
Horch, H. (1994b). Does government financing have a detrimental effect on the autonomy of voluntary associations? Evidence from German sports clubs. Int. Rev. Sociol. Sport 29: 269-285.
Ibsen, B. (1992). Frivilligt arbejde i idrœtsforeninger, DHL/systime, København.
Ibsen, B. (1997). Fordærver pengene foreningerne? Politica 29: 49-61.
Ketab, G. (1998). The value of association. In: Gutmann, A. (ed.), Freedom of Association, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Kirkpatrick, M. J., Beebe, T., Mortimer, J., and Snyder, M. (1998). Volunteerism in adolescence: A process perspective. J. Res. Adolesc. 8: 309-332.
Lawler, E. J. (2002). Micro social orders. Soc. Psychol. Q. 65: 4-17.
Maguire, J. (1999). Global Sport: Identities, Societies, Civilization, Polity Press, Cambridge.
Michels, R. (1962 [1915]). Political Parties, The Free Press, New York.
Morgan, W. J. (1994). Leftist Theories of Sport: A Critique and Reconstruction, University of Illinois Press, Urbana.
Olstad, F. (1987). Norsk idretts historie: Forsvar, sport, klassekamp 1861–1939, Aschehoug, Oslo, Norway.
Pitsch, W., and Emrich, E. (2000). Veränderungen des Umfangs hauptamtlincher Tätigkeit in Sportvereinen im Vergleich verschiedener empirischer Erhebungen. DVS-Inf. 15: 15-20.
Portes, A. (1998). Social capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 24: 1-24.
Putnam, R. D. (1992). Making Democracy Work, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Rittner, V. (1995). Sport in der Erlebnisgesellschaft. In: Allmer, H., and Schulz, N. (eds.), Erlebnissport—Erlebnis Sport, Academia Verlag, Sankt Augustin.
Roche, M. (1993). Sport and community: Rhetoric and reality in the development of British sport policy. In: Binfield, J. C., and Stevenson, J. (eds.), Sport, Culture and Politics, Sheffield Academic Press, Sheffield, UK.
Schofer, E., and Fourcade-Gourinchas, M. (2001). The structural contexts of civic engagement: Voluntary association membership in comparative perspective. Am. Sociol. Rev. 66: 806-828.
Skirstad, B. (1999). Norwegian sport at the crossroad. In: Heinemann, K. (ed.), Sport Clubs in Various European Countries, Hofmann Verlag, Stuttgart, Germany.
Skocpol, T., Ganz, M., and Munson, Z. (2000). A nation of organizers: The institutional origins of civic voluntarism in the United States. Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 94: 527-546.
Slack, T. (1997). Understanding Sport Organizations: The Application of Organization Theory, Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Stone, G. P. (1981). Sport as community representation. In: Lüschen, G., and Sage, G. H. (eds.), Handbook of Social Science of Sport, Stipes, Champaign, IL.
St.meld.nr.14 (1999–2000). Idrettslivet i endring, Kulturdepartementet, Oslo, Norway. [Government Report to Parliament].
Tamir, Y. (1998). Revisiting the civic sphere. In: Gutmann, A. (ed.), Freedom of Association, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Taylor, C. (1995). Invoking civil society. In: Taylor, C. (ed.), Philosophical Arguments, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Thibault, L., Slack, T., and Hinings, B. (1991). Professionalism, structures and systems: The impact of professional staff on voluntary sport organization. Int. Rev. Sociol. Sport 26: 83-99.
Torgersen, U. (1981). Profesjonssosiologi, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, Norway.
Walzer, M. (1992). The civil society argument. In: Mouffe, C. (ed.), Dimensions of Radical Democracy, Verso, London.
Walzer, M. (1998). On involuntary action. In: Gutmann, A. (ed.) Freedom of Association, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Warren, M. E. (2001). Democracy and Association, Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Williams, R. (1961). The Long Revolution, Penguin, Harmondsworth.
Wilson, J. (2000). Volunteering. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 26: 215-240.
Wollebæk, D., Selle, P., and Lorentzen, H. (2000). Frivillig innsats: Sosial integrasjon, demokrati og økonomi [Voluntary work: Social integration, democracy, and economy], Fagbokforlaget, Bergen, Norway.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Seippel, Ø. Volunteers and Professionals in Norwegian Sport Organizations. VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations 13, 253–270 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020389409852
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020389409852