Empirical research analyzing willingness-to-pay (WTP) for memberships in nonprofit sports clubs has focused on individual factors and neglected the role of organizational characteristics. However, social ecological theory suggests that contextual factors also determine individual behavior. This study's purpose is to examine the relationship between sports club organizational capacity and individual WTP for memberships. Members participated in an online survey including a contingent valuation method (CVM) scenario to elicit WTP (n = 648). Organizational capacity was assessed in a separate club survey (n = 228). Mean WTP is approximately €10.50 per month, representing a 30% increase in the current membership fee. Multi-level analyses reveal that human resources, financial, and structural capacities significantly influence WTP: If clubs break even, but also in case of financial problems, members are willing to pay higher fees. Problems concerning the availability of facilities are positively related to relative WTP, while problems concerning their condition are negatively associated with it.
AllisonM. (2001). Sports clubs in Scotland. Edinburgh, UK: SportScotland.
2.
AngristJ. D., & PischkeJ. (2008). Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist's companion.Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
3.
BalduckA. L., LucidarmeS., MarlierM., & WillemA. (2015). Organizational capacity and organizational ambition in nonprofit and voluntary sports clubs. Voluntas,26 (5), 2023–2043.
4.
BalduckA. L., Van RossemA., & BuelensM. (2010). Identifying competencies of volunteer board members of community sports clubs. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly,39 (2), 213–235.
5.
BreuerC. (2005). Zur Entwicklung des Sportmarkts in einer alternden Gesellschaft [The development of the sports market in an aging society]. In HorchH.–D., HovemannG., KaiserS., & ViebahnK. (Eds.), Perspektiven des Sportmarketing: Besonderheiten, Herausforderungen, Tendenzen (pp. 29–42). Cologne, DE: German Sport University Cologne.
6.
BreuerC., & FeilerS. (2015). Sportvereine in Nordrhein–Westfalen [Sports clubs in North Rhine–Westphalia]. In BreuerC. (Ed.), Sportentwicklungsbericht 2013/2014. Analyse zur Situation der Sportvereine in Deutschland (pp. 583–616). Cologne, DE: Sportverlag Strauß.
7.
BreuerC., & FeilerS. (2017a). Sport Development Report 2015/2016: Analysis of the situation of sports clubs in Germany. Abbreviated Version. Hellenthal, DE: Sportverlag Strauß.
8.
BreuerC., & FeilerS. (2017b). Sportvereine in Nordrhein–Westfalen [Sports clubs in North Rhine–Westphalia]. In BreuerC. (Ed.), Sportentwicklungsbericht 2015/2016. Analyse zur Situation der Sportvereine in Deutschland (pp. 562–591). Hellenthal, DE: Sportverlag Strauß.
9.
BreuerC., FeilerS., Llopis–GoigR., Elmose–ØsterlundK., BürgiR., ClaesE., et al. (2017). Characteristics of European sports clubs. A comparison of the structure, management, voluntary work and social integration among sports clubs across ten European countries.Odense, DK: SDU Centre for Sports, Health and Civil Society.
10.
BreuerC., WickerP., & SwierzyP. (2016). Angemessene Mitgliedsbeiträge in den Fußball– und Leichtathletikvereinen des WFLV e.V. [Appropriate membership fees in football and track and field clubs of the WFLV].Duisburg, DE: WDFV.
11.
BronfenbrennerU. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design.Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
12.
BusserJ. A., & CarruthersC. P. (2010). Youth sport volunteer coach motivation. Managing Leisure,15 (1–2), 128–139.
13.
CarsonR. T. (2000). Contingent valuation: A user's guide. Environmental Science and Technology,34 (8), 1413–1418.
14.
CastellanosP., GarcíaJ., & SánchezJ. M. (2011). The willingness to pay to keep a football club in a city: How important are the methodological issues?Journal of Sports Economics,12 (4), 464–486.
15.
CheahB. C. (2009). Clustering standard errors or modeling multilevel data? Research Note. New York, NY: Columbia University.
16.
CromptonJ. (2004). Beyond economic impact: An alternative rationale for the public subsidy of Major League sports facilities. Journal of Sport Management, 18, 40–58.
17.
CummingsR. G., ElliottS., HarrisonG. W., & MurphyJ. (1997). Are hypothetical referenda incentive compatible?Journal of Political Economy,105 (3), 609–621.
18.
CuskellyG., HoyeR., & AuldC. (2006). Working with volunteers in sport. Theory and practice.Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
19.
DallmeyerS., WickerP., & BreuerC. (2017). Public expenditure and sport participation: An examination of direct, spillover, and substitution effects. International Journal of Sport Finance,12 (3), 244–264.
20.
DixonM. A., & CunninghamG. B. (2006). Data aggregation in multi–level analysis: A review of conceptual and statistical issues. Measurement in Physical Education and Exercise Science,10 (2), 85–107.
21.
DohertyA. J., & ChelladuraiP. (1999). Managing cultural diversity in sport organizations: A theoretical perspective. Journal of Sport Management,13 (4), 280–297.
22.
FeilerS., WickerP., & BreuerC. (2015). How to raise voluntary giving for nonprofit sports clubs: An analysis of factors influencing donations. Voluntas,26 (4), 1219–1239.
23.
HanemannM., LoomisJ., & KanninenB. (1991). Statistical efficiency of double–bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation. American Journal of Agricultural Economics,73 (4), 1255–1263.
24.
HallM. H., AndrukowA., BarrC., BrockK., de WitM., & EmbuldeniyaD. (2003). The capacity to serve: a qualitative study of the challenges facing Canada's nonprofit and voluntary organizations.Toronto, ON: Imagine Canada.
25.
HumphreysB. R., JohnsonB. K., MasonD. S., & WhiteheadJ. C. (2018). Estimating the value of medal success in the Olympic Games. Journal of Sports Economics,19 (3), 398–416.
26.
InterisM. G., & TaylorN. J. (2017). Estimating the non–market value of a college sports tradition. International Journal of Sport Finance,12 (3), 222–241.
27.
JohnsonB. K., MondelloM. J., & WhiteheadJ. C. (2007). The value of public goods generated by a National Football League Team. Journal of Sport Management,21 (1), 123–136.
28.
JohnsonB. K., WhiteheadJ. C., MasonD. S., & WalkerG. J. (2007). Willingness to pay for amateur sport and recreation programs. Contemporary Economic Policy,25 (4), 553–564.
29.
JohnsonB. K., WhiteheadJ. C., MasonD. S., & WalkerG. J. (2012). Willingness to pay for downtown public goods generated by large, sports–anchored development projects: The CVM approach. City, Culture and Society, 3, 201–208.
30.
KieferS. (2015). Are riding club members willing to pay or work for overall quality improvement?Managing Leisure,20 (2), 100–116.
31.
KriemadisT., & TheakouE. (2007). Strategic planning models in public and non–profit sport organizations. Sport Management International Journal,3 (2), 27–37.
32.
MisenerK., & DohertyA. (2009). A case study of organizational capacity in nonprofit community sport. Journal of Sport Management,23 (4), 457–482.
33.
MisenerK., & DohertyA. (2013). Understanding capacity through the processes and outcomes of interorganizational relationships in nonprofit community sport organizations. Sport Management Review,16 (2), 135–147.
34.
MitchellR. C., & CarsonR. T. (1989). Using surveys to value public goods: The Contingent Valuation Method.Washington, DC: Resources for the Future.
35.
MoultonB. (1990). An illustration of a pitfall in estimating the effects of aggregate variables on micro units. The Review of Economics and Statistics,72 (2), 334–338.
36.
NagelS. (2008). Goals of sports clubs. European Journal for Sport and Society, 5, 121–141.
37.
PeughJ. L. (2010). A practical guide to multilevel modeling. Journal of School Psychology, 48, 85–112.
38.
Rabe–HeskethS., & SkrondalA. (2012). Multilevel and longitudinal modeling using Stata (3rd ed.). College Station, TX: Stata Press.
39.
SeippelØ. (2002). Volunteers and professionals in Norwegian sport organizations. Voluntas,13 (3), 253–270.
40.
StuderS., & von SchnurbeinG. (2013). Organizational factors affecting volunteers: A literature review on volunteer coordination. Voluntas,24 (2), 403–440.
41.
SwierzyP., WickerP., & BreuerC. (2018). The impact of organizational capacity of nonprofit sports clubs on voluntary engagement: A multi–level analysis. Sport Management Review (in press). doi:10.1016/j.smr.2017.08.001
42.
ThielA., & MayerJ. (2009). Characteristics of voluntary sports clubs management: A sociological perspective. European Sport Management Quarterly,9 (1), 81–98.
43.
WaltonH., LongoA., & DawsonP. (2008). A contingent valuation of the 2012 London Olympic Games. A regional perspective. Journal of Sports Economics,9 (3), 304–317.
44.
WickerP. (2011). Willingness–to–pay in non–profit sports clubs. International Journal of Sport Finance,6 (2), 155–169.
45.
WickerP., & BreuerC. (2011). Scarcity of resources in German non–profit sport clubs. Sport Management Review,14 (2), 188–201.
46.
WickerP., & BreuerC. (2013). Understanding the importance of organizational resources to explain organizational problems: Evidence from nonprofit sport clubs in Germany. Voluntas,24 (2), 461–484.
