Title: Key factors for ensuring performance and attracting practitioners to small sport clubs

Authors: Fabio Musso; André Richelieu; Barbara Francioni

Addresses: Department of Economics, Society and Politics, Carlo Bo University of Urbino, Via Saffi 42, 61029 Urbino, Italy ' École des Sciences de la Gestion, UQAM University, Montréal, QC H2L 2C4, Canada ' Department of Economics, Society and Politics, Carlo Bo University of Urbino, Via Saffi 42, 61029 Urbino, Italy

Abstract: The main objective of this paper is to determine which factors small and non-profit sports clubs should consider and implement in order to, first, enhance performance and, second, attract practitioners. To achieve our objective, we carried out a regression analysis on a sample of clay target shooting clubs. Results reveal that factors related to shooting practice, as well as facilities/services supporting practitioners have a positive influence on performance. Moreover, well-defined animation and stimulus policies for members emerged as factors with a positive impact on performance. This study provides an analysis of the connection between infrastructure and organisational features of sports clubs, on the one hand, and performance, on the other. This research also points out which types of services and initiatives should be adopted for enhancing both clubs' attractiveness and performance.

Keywords: sport management; strategy; small non-profit organisations; non-profit sport club; infrastructure; organisational features; facilities; performance; clay target shooting; sport marketing.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2019.104156

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2019 Vol.19 No.5/6, pp.352 - 370

Accepted: 27 Oct 2018
Published online: 20 Dec 2019 *

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