Nonprofit Sport Organization Board Members’ Engagement in Decision Making

This study explored the engagement of nonprofit sport organization (NPSO) board members in decision making. Featuring six NPSO boards, data were collected from 36 board meeting observations, 18 interviews, and over 900 documents. Data analysis was completed quantitatively (i.e., descriptive statistics, hierarchical cluster analysis, independent sample t test) and qualitatively (i.e., codebook thematic analysis). Board members demonstrated instances of high and low engagement in decision making, with Chief Executive Officers and Chairs being the most engaged. Engagement is impacted by board members’ ability to have an alignment of priorities with their NPSO, an awareness of their responsibilities, the necessary competencies, and a feeling of trust and safety. Theoretical contributions include the operationalization of constructs and consideration for boardroom processes to empirically understand NPSO board member engagement. Practically, to promote higher levels of engagement, Chairs should embody a collective leadership style and avoid situations of groupthink or subgroups on the board.