Publicaties

This critical PhD review paper examines existing scholarship on ethical leadership in sport. Following a general trend in business ethics and related fields, ethical leadership has gained considerable research attention in sport over the last decades. Within this growing body of literature, ethical leadership is often presented as part of the desired strategic response of sport organizations to tackle the so-called dark side of sport (i.e., ...

Community Sport Development Programs (CSDPs) that use an intersectoral capacity building approach have shown potential in reaching individuals in disadvantaged situations. This study has investigated how the application of capacity building principles in disadvantaged communities results in higher sport participation rates in these communities. A multiple case design was used, including six similar disadvantaged communities in Antwerp, Belgium; ...

Although local governments attempt to promote sports among all layers of society, people with a lower socio-economic status are still under-represented in grassroots sports. Previous studies indicate that inter-sectoral networks and joint efforts can contribute to an increase in sport participation among these groups, but a systematic analysis of the structure, coordination and interactions in the networks is still missing. Insight into networks ...

Research Question: On the one hand sports organisations struggle to reach disadvantaged target groups, on the other hand many non-sports organisations use sports as a popular means to reach disadvantaged target groups and to attain social and health gains. To uncover the full potential of sports this sports delivery paradox should be resolved. The present study therefore investigates a community sports development program (CSDP) using an ...

Societal changes in the 20th and 21st century have led to a bigger gap between rich and poor, an increased social diversity and a decrease in social cohesion and social capital in our Western civilization. These changes cause multidimensional challenges for sport, social, health, youth and cultural sectors that cannot be handled by a single organisation and call for an integrated approach. One of these challenges is including ethnic minorities ...

Background : The Health through Sport conceptual model links sport participation with physical, social and psychological outcomes and stresses the need for more understanding between these outcomes. The present study aims to uncover how sport participation, physical activity, social capital and mental health are interrelated by examining these outcomes in one model. Methods : A cross-sectional survey was conducted in nine disadvantaged ...

This research measures organizational capacity and organizational ambition in nonprofit and voluntary sports clubs. The organizational capacity dimensions of Hall et al.’s (The capacity to serve: A qualitative study of the challenges facing Canada’s nonprofit and voluntary organizations, 2003) multidimensional framework are completed with corresponding dimensions reflecting organizational ambition, and the human resources dimension is further ...

Introduction / Purpose: Sports participation has been found to be related with higher levels of physical activity (Haskell et al., 2007), better mental health (Asztalos et al., 2009), and higher social capital (Perks, 2007). In light of these findings, health, social and other organizations have shown a growing interest in using sports or collaborating with the sports sector to increase physical activity, enhance mental health or engage in civic ...

Background: Recent research has illustrated the need for cross-sector partnerships to tackle multidimensional problems such as health inequalities and sport and physical activity promotion. Capacity building is based on partnerships and has demonstrated effectiveness in tackling these multidimensional problems. This study aims to explain how cross-sector partnerships build capacity at the practitioner, organisational and partnership levels. The ...