Effective management of scarce resources: a case study of American collegiate sport clubs

Voluntary, non-profit sport clubs are considered an important sport provider for communities across the world, with management effectiveness of great importance to promote long-term organizational health and sustainability. Due to a scarcity of volunteers and financial resources, the management of human and financial resources are major difficulties inhibiting club effectiveness. The current study explored the goals and management effectiveness of American collegiate sport clubs (ACSC) through focus groups with 13 sport clubs, interviews with two recreation professional staff, and six publicly accessible documents pertaining to the management practices of ACSC at a large university in the United States. While the ACSC were found moderately effective at managing their human and financial resources, when compared to their ascribed goals and best practices established in the literature, many prescribed management practices were not adhered to. Implications for effective management practices specific to the collegiate context are presented, with a call for greater education of student officers to support clubs' organizational effectiveness.