The Paradox of Gender Diversity, Organizational Outcomes, and Recruitment in the Boards of National Governing Bodies of Sport

Marjukka Mikkonen, Jari Stenvall and Kati Lehtonen
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Marjukka Mikkonen: Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland
Jari Stenvall: Faculty of Management and Business, Tampere University, 33100 Tampere, Finland
Kati Lehtonen: LIKES Research Centre for Physical Activity and Health, 40700 Jyväskylä, Finland

Administrative Sciences, 2021, vol. 11, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: Diversity have become a desired value in sport organizations. However, regardless of the aspiration towards more gender diverse leadership, women leaders remain a minority. Diversity and its impact on group performance has also increased interest among scholars. Building on information/decision-making theory and the concept of the right fit, this paper introduces a new theoretical model that sheds light on the contradiction of gender-biased recruitment/selection processes in sports organization boards and the impact of diversity on organizational outcomes. The model is partly tested with survey data from the Finnish National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs). This paper shows that, because of the gender-biased recruitment/selection process, the benefits of gender-diverse organization boards may not be fully actualized, which not only affects the functioning of sports organizations, but may also limit women’s inclusion on sports organization boards.

Keywords: diversity; gender; sports governance; information/decision-making theory; recruitment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: L M M0 M1 M10 M11 M12 M14 M15 M16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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