The effect of organisational governance on the reform of Judo governance in Greece

Abstract

Research question: This article focuses on the way governance may impact the reform and change of a specific sport, so as to improve its organisational performance. Using organizational governance as a guideline the paper aims at finding all its aspects that could have or have already had an impact on the reform and change of the sport of Judo in Greece, as well as the degree and sort of this impact. Research methods & Results and findings: Using semi-structured interviews with two Hellenic Judo Federation (HJF) ex-officials and extended research on HJF paperwork (such as score sheets, HJF internal regulations and annual budgets), this paper concluded that after the year 2000 the HJF's Board of Directors used several aspects of organisational governance in their effort to change and improve the sport of Judo. Not all aspects were addressed equally, however, the sport of Judo changed radically in many different areas such as involvement of all parties interested in Judo, motivation for young athletes to participate in tournaments, popularity increase etc. Implications: This research may be used as a guideline by several sport organisations which aim at improving their organisation's performance and achieving better results especially in countries where the government impact is critical to their operation. Furthermore, in the case of Greece, where sport organisation is currently deeply influenced by the economic crisis, the paper may contribute to a better understanding of sport organisations' internal politics and stimulate related discussions and problem-solving. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR