Open Innovation in Nonprofit Sports Clubs

This research paper investigates open innovation—that is, the use of purposive inflows and outflows of knowledge in order to innovate—in the context of nonprofit sports clubs, and is based on the content analysis of semi-structured interviews held with representatives of eleven sports clubs. The study develops a framework that describes open innovation activities in nonprofit sports clubs as facets of four superordinate dimensions, namely permeability of the club’s boundary, application and implementation of open innovation practices, managerial competencies, and the environmental and organizational surroundings in which the club operates. Within these dimensions, subordinate facets such as commitment of the club’s president and the strategic use of coopetitive environments explain how and why sports clubs are successful at implementing innovations and how their nonprofit status (e.g., volunteer work) contributes to (or is in conflict with) innovation. The findings provide implications for nonprofit organizations inside and outside the sports sector.