International sport federations’ commercialisation: a qualitative comparative analysis
研究通过定性比较分析，考察了影响国际体育联合会商业化的条件组合，发现专业化和社交媒体参与是关键因素，并指出商业化可能带来合法性、使命漂移等风险。
Research question: This study examines the conditions and configurations that particularly influence International Federations’ (IFs) commercialisation.Research method: Crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) is used to determine the conditions that are related to an IFs’ commercialisation. Sixteen interviews were conducted in six Olympic IFs and one international sport umbrella organisation.Results and findings: The findings reveal a variety of high and low commercialisation configurations. Specialisation is a key condition in both high and low commercialisation, and social media engagement is central in high commercialisation. Strategic planning and low accountability have low degrees of overlap with high commercialisation outcomes. With 13 out of 22 IFs achieving high levels of commercialisation, the findings demonstrate that IFs are increasingly developing business-like behaviours.Implications: The findings highlight the importance of specialisation and social media engagement to achieve high commercialisation. However, when IFs assume a monetisation agenda, there are associated risks such as stakeholder legitimacy, mission drift, goal vagueness and adherence to good governance principles.