Title: The social capital structure of a small-scale sport event: configuration, evolution, and legacy

Authors: Hagen Wäsche

Addresses: Institute of Sports and Sports Science, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Engler-Bunte-Ring 15, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany

Abstract: Social capital is a resource created through networks and considered to be a potential legacy of small-scale sport events. To understand the structure of social capital, the interorganisational network of a small-scale sport event was analysed longitudinally. A multiplex network analysis was used to study the structural patterns of different types of relations (business, social, and personal), their simultaneous interplay, and their evolution. The results suggest that social capital is embedded primarily in formal business network relations, centred around a governing lead organisation. The business network relations showed a significant interaction with personal relations. A strengthening of the informal personal network occurred pointing towards an event legacy that can be capitalised on. The insights help event organisers and hosting communities to better understand the structural configuration of social capital, mechanisms of its evolution and how the social capital resource can be utilised for building cooperative capacity and sustainable network development.

Keywords: social capital; sport event; interorganisational network; cooperation; collaboration; network governance; event management; event leveraging; sustainability; legacy; social network analysis; SNA.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSMM.2020.110846

International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing, 2020 Vol.20 No.3/4, pp.289 - 309

Accepted: 06 Jan 2020
Published online: 30 Oct 2020 *

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