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The notion of equivalence is important in the context of comparative studies, such as those that compare performance across sporting nations or those that compare good governance across different sport organisations. However, despite its importance, the concept has been interpreted and employed in different ways, resulting in the term being misunderstood or conflated. This article examines the concept of equivalence, discusses how issues of non-equivalence can arise, and identifies potential strategies that can be employed by researchers to ensure it is more appropriately addressed. We examine and apply three main types of equivalence (construct, sample and functional) to two empirical cases, (1) the SPLISS analysis of critical success factors in elite sport policy and (2) Play the Game's Sport Governance Observer to demonstrate how researchers attempt to overcome or at least mitigate the problems of equivalence and how, despite these efforts, there remain equivalence-related problems that limit the reliability and credibility of comparative elements of the study. We conclude our paper by discussing the implications for comparative sport research and specifically how future comparative sport research may be enhanced.

This book examines key performance areas in sport management that cut across cultural, economic and geographical borders, from both commercial and social justice perspectives.

A historic election in 2008 brings up new questions about why there is a generational difference in political engagement. Younger generations became more involved in the latest election, and it is important for scholars to understand why this change occurred. In an effort to begin this conversation, the researchers asked young citizens to talk about their choice to vote or not vote, and to become more involved or ignore campaign 2008. Through a focus group investigation and an analysis of citizens' responses, the researchers hope to further understand young citizens. Two themes found within the discussions are consistent with previous research: community and efficacy. However, this study explains some of the ways that these two motivations for action might be interlinked.

This book provides a comparative analysis of sport and physical activity policies, processes, and practices across the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) of the United Kingdom. Drawing upon in-depth analysis by internationally recognised experts within the sport policy and management field, and applying a novel analytical framework, this book offers the first comprehensive intra-country comparison of the most significant features of the sporting infrastructure across the home nations. With chapters focusing on each of the four nations in detail, followed by a comparative chapter that identifies themes regarding the evolution of sport policy across the UK, the book examines the differences and similarities across elite, community, and school sport policy. It provides an important insight into how sport policy interacts with national and devolved political structures and with sociocultural factors to drive both elite sporting success and community sport development. This book is essential reading for any student, researcher, policymaker or sport practitioner with an interest in sport policy, sport development, sport management, public policy, or politics.

This book provides a comparative analysis of sport and physical activity policies, processes, and practices across the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) of the United Kingdom. Drawing upon in-depth analysis by internationally recognised experts within the sport policy and management field, and applying a novel analytical framework, this book offers the first comprehensive intra-country comparison of the most significant features of the sporting infrastructure across the home nations. With chapters focusing on each of the four nations in detail, followed by a comparative chapter that identifies themes regarding the evolution of sport policy across the UK, the book examines the differences and similarities across elite, community, and school sport policy. It provides an important insight into how sport policy interacts with national and devolved political structures and with sociocultural factors to drive both elite sporting success and community sport development. This book is essential reading for any student, researcher, policymaker or sport practitioner with an interest in sport policy, sport development, sport management, public policy, or politics.

The egregious, global problem of athlete abuse, particularly the physical and mental manipulation and exploitation of young athletes, continues unabated. Within the United States, high profile media cases such as the USA Gymnastics scandal led to the passing of specific legislation which restructured and empowered the U.S. Centre for SafeSport to end athlete abuse. Despite these developments, significant challenges remain, with many stakeholders questioning SafeSport's ability to keep athletes safe. We theorize recent developments through a polycentric governance lens, demonstrating how ongoing events can be explained by poorly conceived structural arrangements and inadequate processes that have led to ineffective co-ordination across the regime. Findings present the challenges with the analysis examining causes and the implications for the future of SafeSport.

There are fewer cases of such blatant acts to defy and subsequent heroic efforts to rearrange institutional norms than the Russian doping scandal. In adopting a neo-institutional perspective, the authors theorize the scandal as a case of attempted but failed institutional disruption. More specifically, the authors draw upon the institutional change literature and the institutional work perspective to explain the key events surrounding actors' response to the scandal. The analysis utilized Gioia's methodological approach to examine secondary empirical data. Findings reveal how stakeholders circumvented traditional governance structures in an attempt to disrupt institutional arrangements, but despite this, much of the preexisting institutional infrastructure has remained intact. The authors explain this outcome, in part, as a consequence of the counter-institutional work of key governing agencies and other actors to maintain the status quo within international sport.

International sport is inherently political. Its governance structures are complex involving a multiplicity of actors. Its foundation is traditional, centred on ideas about self-governance and autonomy while simultaneously challenged by the contradictory requirements to promote and regulate sport. The politics of international sport can be seen in the authoritative allocation of values, the collective action necessary to determine who gets what, when and how, and ultimately being clear about who cares about what, where and why. It is in this setting where the concept of power and the ability of agents to exercise power is particularly insightful in garnering a more nuanced understanding of the systemic governance of international sport. To this end, this study examines power relations in international sport by applying Bergsgard's analytical framework, which adapts Lukes' three faces of power and Bourdieu's ideas about symbolic power, to the Russian Doping Scandal. Documentary analysis is used as the primary method of exploration. Our analysis illustrates how the deep structures of the Russian state and the structural conditions of the international sport governance field permitted the case to evolve to scandalous proportions. The paper also reveals the power dynamics between various stakeholders involved in the scandal and how these power dynamics led to failings in the governance of international sport.

Purpose– The paper aims to utilise Adam and Kriesi's network approach to policy analysis to examine the range of exogenous factors that affect interactions in the community sport policy process from a local authority perspective.Design/methodology/approach– The research is based upon two case studies. Each case study involved semi-structured interviews with three local authority middle/senior managers, three senior County Sport Partnership (CSP) representatives, and eight regional/county national governing bodies of sport (NGB) representatives.Findings– While the two cases exhibit distinctive socio-economic and structural profiles they provide valuable evidence regarding the operation of the network of partners involved in community sport and also illustrate the utility of Adam and Kriesi's analytical framework. In relation to Adam and Kriesi's power/interaction model both cases illustrate the fragmentation of power at the community level although interaction in one case exhibits a pattern best characterised as "competition" whereas interaction in the other is more closely associated with "horizontal cooperation".Research limitations/implications– The paper highlights the need for improved theorisation of partnership arrangements in community sport, in particular: examining the relationship between issues such as resources, organisational capacity, and traditional involvement in sport development and attitudes toward the community sport policy process; linked to this, mapping the causal relationships in partnerships, i.e. what factors lead to what actions or behaviours; and investigating the utility of various strategies in developing a more cohesive and effective sub-regional policy system.Originality/value– Local authority perspectives of community sport policy is an under-researched topic. It is timely to study these perspectives due to the refreshed community sport policy for 2013-2017, the traditional status of local government as the major funder of community sport, and the public sector budget reductions and reported implications for non-statutory services, such as community sport