A social capital view of an Olympic and Paralympic Games bid exploration process. Issue 2 (15th March 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Finch, David J.; Legg, David; O'Reilly, Norm; Wright, Stefan; Norton, Brody
• Is Part Of: European sport management quarterly. Volume 21:Issue 2(2021)
• Page Start: 302
• Page End: 321
• Publication Date: 2021-03-15
• Subjects: Olympics -- mega-events -- sports -- social capital -- bidding; Sports administration -- Periodicals; Sports administration -- Europe -- Periodicals; 796.069
• DOI: 10.1080/16184742.2020.1748082
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1618-4742

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Research question: The purpose of this study is to examine the Olympic and Paralympic bid exploration process adopted by Calgary, Canada ('Calgary Model') to explore whether it provides a template on how future communities could leverage bid exploration processes to generate social capital though increased network connectivity and community ownership. In doing so, we examine the four research questions: Research Question 1: How did the Calgary Model embed community values as central to all decision-making processes? Research Question 2: How did the Calgary Model engage diverse stakeholders, particularly community interest groups, in the strategic activities? Research Question 3: How did the Calgary Model empower communities to become agents of change? Research Question 4: How did the Calgary Model provide sustained open communication towards mutual learning? Research methods: Guided by social capital theory, the researchers conducted 19 in-depth, one-on-one interviews with a sample of individuals engaged in the Calgary bid exploration process. Results and findings: The results identified ten composite themes with an overall conclusion that the process Calgary used did not sufficiently generate social capital through maximizing network connectivity and community ownership. Implications: Resulting from our data analysis we developed a conceptual social capital assessment tool and five principles to support event organizers in designing processes that help to maximize the generation of community social capital.