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Article

Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Passion for Work on Performance Variables in Sports Clubs

by
Paloma Escamilla-Fajardo
,
Mario Alguacil
* and
Ana M. Gómez-Tafalla
Department of Physical Education and Sports, Faculty of Physical Activity and Sport Sciences, University of Valencia, 46010 Valencia, Spain
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2021, 13(5), 2920; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052920
Submission received: 14 January 2021 / Revised: 24 February 2021 / Accepted: 5 March 2021 / Published: 8 March 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sport-Based Entrepreneurship, Sport Management, and Sustainable Development Goals)
Versions Notes

Abstract

:
Entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work have been widely studied due to their effects on the behaviour and attitude of management teams in the short- and long-term. However, despite the influences of these variables on the sustainability and survival of an entity, there is a gap when considering the effects of these two performance variables in sports organisations. Therefore, the main objectives of this study were to understand the influences of entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work on service quality and sporting performance. To this end, 199 Spanish non-profit sports clubs were analysed using instruments with good psychometric properties. Data analysis was carried out using two complementary methodologies: hierarchical regression models and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis. The findings show that innovation and risk-taking influence performance variables and that the inclusion of passion for work significantly increases the explanatory capacity of the model. On the other hand, it was also observed that entrepreneurial orientation dimensions and passion for work are part of the combination that allows the expected result to be explored to a greater extent. Theoretical and practical implications were drawn from these findings, which can be used to improve the economic and social sustainability of sport organisations. The study also provides useful information for managers and directors of sport organisations.

1. Introduction

Achieving and maintaining economic and social sustainability are objectives of any organisation. The sustainability of an organisation is related to the existence of favourable economic and social conditions. We are currently in a dynamic and changing situation, in which competition is becoming increasingly strong and the sustainability and survival of organisations is becoming more difficult [1,2]. Hence, in recent years, knowing about different factors that can impact an organisation’s final performance is vital [3,4]. The presence of a hostile environment and the need to explore the performance background are not alien concepts to the sports sector. The aim is to understand the situation in order to focus our attention on aspects that have a strong final impact. In this context, to ensure the economic and social sustainability of a sports organisation, value must be created. To this end, sports organisations need to adopt strategic entrepreneurial initiatives that are appropriate for the final objectives established [5]. These strategic initiatives, as well as the ultimate performance of an organisation, may be largely influenced by the individual characteristics of the personnel working in them [6]. Entrepreneurial behaviours, such as the addition of new products or services, anticipating competition in practical proposals, or committing the organisation’s resources to achieving a higher bottom line, can positively impact performance and, consequently, the organisation’s sustainability. Similarly, passion for work can be an essential element in driving entrepreneurial orientation [7], and consequently, organisational performance [8].
In the sports sector, due to constant changes in the demands of users and the dynamism of the required sports services [9], quick actions are necessary to satisfy needs through high-quality services. Increasing the service quality can improve economic sustainability, as it can increase the number of users. Similarly, it can also improve social sustainability by having deeper impacts on members, users, and athletes. In this context, entrepreneurial organisations are able to anticipate the competition associated with creating and offering sports products and services; however, non-entrepreneurial entities develop more conservative strategies and do not anticipate changes or imitate the actions of competitors.
This has rarely been studied in organisational literature, and there is limited information in the sports sector. The present study aims to fill a gap in the organisational and sport literature by exploring the relationships among entrepreneurial variables and individual variables, such as passion for work, on the performance of sport clubs. The main objective of this study is to identify the influences of entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work on two performance variables that are closely related to the organisation’s sustainability: service quality and sporting performance. We intend to provide information that can help to improve the management of sports organisations.
The structure of the article is as follows: After this introduction, a theoretical framework is presented with information on the variables studied and the relationships among them, and hypotheses are put forward. Subsequently, the materials and methods are presented, including information on the participants, instruments used, procedure, and data analysis. After that, the results obtained are shown. Afterwards, a discussion is presented, which relates the results obtained with the existing academic literature. Finally, the conclusions are drawn, and practical implications, limitations, and future lines of research are shown.

2. Theoretical Framework

2.1. Organisational/Individual Variables

Organisational and individual variables have been extensively studied in the literature in relation to final organisational performance and, consequently, economic and social sustainability [10,11]. These can be individual characteristics, such as educational level, gender, age, or seniority, or organisational, attitudinal, and behavioural variables, such as entrepreneurial orientation or passion for work.

2.2. Entrepreneurial Orientation

Entrepreneurial orientation (hereinafter: EO) can be understood as a feature of the model of direction and management of the organisation, e.g., towards change through initiatives and activities that encourage innovation, proactivity, and risk taking [12]. Complementarily, a recent article published by Wales et al. [13] goes further and states that “EO can be recognized as a concept which includes entrepreneurial top management style, organisational configuration, and new entry initiatives”. EO defines a way in which entities can differentiate themselves from one another [14], consolidating their sustainability practices in the short-, medium-, and long-term. Those entities with high EO develop a clear strategic orientation towards the integration of new knowledge, skills, and entrepreneurial abilities that creates a competitive advantage over their competitors [15]. The main objective of any organisation is to guarantee its sustainability and survival; providing added value through entrepreneurial initiatives is a fundamental element in achieving this. The most common way to approach EO is through three dimensions: proactivity, risk taking, and innovation [16,17].
Proactivity can be defined as “the exploration and exploitation of new opportunities” [18] ahead of other organisations. Along this line, proactivity can include two main aspects: (i) detailed knowledge about the organisation itself and about the competition, and (ii) the elaboration, planning, and execution of initiatives in anticipation of the competitors’ and users’ demands. In the field of sports, analysis of the organisation itself and the sector is related to the exploration of the organisation’s own resources and those of the rest of the entities that compete as well as the demands and requirements of the users. In this context, it is necessary to take advantage of already-existing resources and to extend strategic knowledge on the new resources that can be exploited. On the other hand, in the development of strategic initiatives before competitors, it is necessary to adopt a proactive attitude in which pioneering actions are carried out in response to the needs of the population. In contrast, we find the “wait-and-see posture” [19] and passive behaviour, which are actions that are developed when a change in the users’ needs or an initiative by competitors has already been perceived.
On the other hand, “managerial attitude towards risk” [20] includes a dimension of EO known as risk taking (RT). RT is based on the commitment of a large amount of resources from the organisation to venture into the unknown with a high level of uncertainty [13]. Generally, there is no such thing as “no risk” [21], particularly in the field of sport, which is dynamic and changing. However, within the range of RT that exists, for an organisation to be considered high risk, it must commit organisational resources and venture into an uncertain context. This does not mean that the possibility of failure should not be assessed but that there must be a balance between risk and benefit. A sports organisation should undertake risk if the possibility of profit is much higher than it would be if this risk is not taken. Finally, innovation is an essential tool for operating in competitive markets [18] such as the sports sector. This EO dimension (innovation) encompasses the new ideas, products, and services that are developed by the organisation. It is not essential for it to be involve absolute innovation, but it must bring added value to the organisation itself. Innovative processes, creative ideas, and experimentation are some of the main characteristics of innovation [22].
“The concern about innovation and entrepreneurship has recently provided the sports environment with a new challenge to confront its reality, threats and shortcomings, and to identify opportunities and redesign its future”([23], p. 982). In this context, entrepreneurial orientation has been widely accepted as a construct that defines and measures attitudes related to entrepreneurship and innovation [4,5]. It has added importance, since, according to previous literature, it has a close relationship with the final performance of an organisation [8,14,17]. Hence, it was chosen as an independent variable for use in the present study.

2.3. Passion for Work

Passion is closely related to the motivation to invest time and effort voluntarily into an activity that one loves [24,25]. This construct has been introduced into the organisational environment using different terms that are generally considered synonymous (passion for work, job passion, or work passion). Passion for work is ‘a job attitude comprising both affective and cognitive elements that embodies the strong inclination that one has towards one’s job’ [26]. This construct includes affective aspects, such as intensely enjoying the work activity; cognitive aspects, when the work becomes a vocational and defining factor of the person’s personality; and behavioural aspects, when developing strategic actions according to a final objective [27].
Later on, passion for work was introduced into the context of organisations, producing variations in the definitions, so that they are in line with the context, but with a common base. In this sense, authors such as Ho, Wong, and Lee [26] argue that passion for work on the part of employees has to do with a strong inclination towards work, adding that this inclination will be associated with a positive and consistent state of well-being. These same authors understand passion as a cognitive aspect that makes people who are passionate about their work more likely to engage in a more intensive and systematic learning process when the expectations of a task require it [26]. Complementarily, Che et al. [28], explained that interactions between workers are also an important part of passion for work and can be developed, as can the interpersonal relationships between the staff of the organisation. With these definitions, it is important to clarify that passion for work differs from other concepts that may be similar to it, such as intrinsic motivation and work engagement [29].
In the sports field, a person who shows passion for their sport is more dedicated to it, being more persistent in achieving excellence [30]. In this sense, passion in entrepreneurship reflects the degree to which a person loves to work and enjoys investing time in activities related to that work [31,32]. This passion for work is also related to entrepreneurial orientation, since there are studies highlighting how entrepreneurial orientation interacts with passion to increase the performance of entities, understanding that passion is a key element in turning entrepreneurial orientation into performance improvement [8]. Given the uncertainty and challenges that arise when developing a new organisation or launching pioneering initiatives, passion can be a key factor associated with entrepreneurial actions [7]. Passion for work can be considered one of the most common phenomena in an entrepreneurial process [31]. In addition to its relationship with entrepreneurship, passion for work can have an ultimate impact on an organisation’s performance, as has been studied in previous literature [26,29]. However, despite the importance of EO and passion for work in the organisational domain, few studies have applied these terms to the sport sector, least of all as antecedents of performance in sport organisations. For these reasons and because of their importance in the organisational environment, it was considered interesting to identify the relationship between OE and passion for work as antecedent variables of the final performance of non-profit sports clubs.

2.4. Performance Variables

The final performance of organisations has been widely studied in the literature [4,8,17]. Generally, the measures used are related to the economic performance, profitability, and sustainability of the organisation; however, for non-profit organisations, these measures may differ due to their specific characteristics. In this sense, there are idiosyncratic variables of organisations that are important to consider. For example, in sports organisations such as sports clubs, sporting performance is a specific variable that must be studied. On the other hand, traditional variables such as service quality are common to any organisation, regardless of the sector, and their analysis is fundamental.

2.5. Service Quality

Service quality is a concept that has been widely studied in sports literature [9,33,34,35]. At a conceptual level, service quality is understood as the result of the fulfilment of expectations previously established [36]. Therefore, if a service complies with what users expect to a greater extent, the perceived quality of that service will be higher. Other relevant definitions refer to quality as a concept related to the excellence and superiority of a product or service over others [37,38]. The high level of competition in the market has led organisations to value their quality of service as an important strategic element [39].
This concept of perceived service quality is an element of interest to sports organisations, since quality has been shown to be an antecedent of perceived value [40] in the same way that it plays an important role in the decision-making processes of clients [41]. In addition, perceived quality allows for greater psychological involvement as a means of improving both attitudinal and behavioural loyalty levels [42]. Service quality can have a strong impact on users’ perceptions of our products or services. It is therefore an important variable to take into account in research and must be extended into the field of associative sport.

2.6. Sporting Performance

Sporting performance is the idiosyncratic outcome variable of the sports sector and, in particular, of sports clubs [43]. This type of performance differentiates sports organisations from others operating in other activity sectors [44]. Sporting performance has generally been associated with player performance [45]. However, the overall sporting performance of a club has also been examined in the sports literature. Some studies have evaluated it by looking at the position of a professional sports club in the results table in a given season [46,47], others have analysed it by looking at the odds of professional bets on losses, draws, and wins [48], while others have evaluated it by looking at the points scored in official competitions in which a club participates throughout the season [49,50].
However, it is more difficult to adapt these previously used measures to non-profit sports clubs. Sports clubs are characterised by their non-profit nature, which gives them a different characterisation from other for-profit sports entities [4]. Their social and sporting purposes prevail over economic or financial functions [44]. Furthermore, it should be noted that a sports club can have more or less ambitious sports objectives regardless of their position in the results table or the number of points scored at the end of the season. For instance, in one season, the final sports objective of a sports club may be to move up a category as its external and internal conditions are conducive to doing so, but for another sports club, the final sports objective may be to stay in the middle of the category and not move down. The position in the table would be different, but both would have achieved their sporting objective for that season. However, this may differ for non-profit sports clubs and professional sports clubs [4]. Therefore, to measure the sporting performance of non-profit clubs, subjective measures of perception have previously been used in the literature.

2.7. Relationship between the Research Variables

Although the influence of entrepreneurship on performance has been discussed for years, it has generally been argued that the relationship between EO and an organisation’s final performance is moderately large [51,52]. However, the measurement of final performance can be very broad and heterogeneous. In this study, as in previous studies on non-profit organisations [53], the performance of a sports organisation is measured in a multidimensional way. Firstly, regarding hypotheses related to service quality, entrepreneurial orientation is a concept that has been shown to have a significant explanatory capacity in the sports context [9,54,55]. Its constituent aspects, such as innovation, proactivity, and risk assumption, have also been shown to have relevant roles in the quality of performance [56].
On the other hand, many studies in the field of sports have tended to ignore the passion variable in their analyses. Moreover, even fewer studies have combined the analysis of an entrepreneurial variable and the passion for work variable. In the sports sector, this concept has also been shown to have a significant relationship with service quality [57]. Along the same vein, it should be noted that other sectors argue that a passion for work can significantly improve employees’ ability to tailor their services to customer needs and deliver services that meet expectations [58]. This can be extrapolated to the sports field, where passion is a fundamental element in carrying out day-to-day work.
Therefore, considering the aforementioned information, we propose H1 and H2:
Hypothesis 1 (H1).
EO positively predicts the service quality of the sports clubs analysed.
Hypothesis 2 (H2).
Passion positively predicts the service quality of the sports clubs analysed.
Achieving a high level of sporting performance is one of the main objectives of any sports club, regardless of whether it is professional or non-professional. Furthermore, maintaining a good level of sporting performance can favourably affect financial objectives and improve the economic situation of the sports club [59]. This is why its evaluation is important, as it can allow the club to attract more revenue. In relation to the sporting performance hypotheses, we know that an organisation’s performance can be influenced by organisational variables as well as by individual ones [10,60]. Therefore, strategic decisions and practical proposals developed by sports club managers influence the final result of an organisation. Generally, these initiatives and actions are influenced by individual and situational characteristics.
Within the individual variables of an entity is the entrepreneurial orientation [13]. The relationship of entrepreneurial orientation as a starting point for performance improvement has also been verified by other studies [61]. On the other hand, regarding the relationship between passion and performance, this relationship is been supported by the literature [62]. Authors such as Crespo et al. [57] found that, in the sports context, there are intrinsic variables such as passion that are related to clients’ service evaluations, affecting their overall perception of performance. Although empirical research on the relationship between passion for work and final organisational performance is still developing, the theory holds that managers with a high level of passion for work have a greater chance of success [63,64] and potential for organisational growth. This leads us to H3 and H4.
Hypothesis 3 (H3).
EO positively predicts the sporting performance of the clubs analysed.
Hypothesis 4 (H4).
Passion positively predicts the sporting performance of the clubs analysed.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Participants

The study population were Spanish non-profit sports clubs. A total of 199 sports clubs of different disciplines were analysed. Non-probability sampling was used to select the clubs. The inclusion criteria were that the clubs were non-profit and that the managers had more than three years of experience in that club. Considering the level of competition, 66.3% (n = 132) were competing at a national-international competition level, while 33.7% (n= 67) were competing at the local-regional level. Considering the funding type, 82.4% (n = 164) had primarily private funding, while 17.6% (n = 35) had primarily public funding. The average number of staff in an organisation (employees and volunteers) was 18.63 (SD = 17.57), and this was differentiated into three ranges: (i) between 0 and 9, 38.2% (n = 76), (ii) between 10 and 20 persons, 34.7% (n = 69), and (iii) more than 21, 27.1% (n = 54). Finally, considering the number of athletes, 19.6% of the sports clubs (n = 39) had fewer than 50 athletes, 22.6% (n = 45) had between 51 and 100 athletes, while the remaining 57.8% (n = 115) had more than 101 athletes.

3.2. Instrument

The instrument used included scales to measure entrepreneurial orientation, passion for work, service quality, and sporting performance. In all cases Cronbach’s Alpha values above 0.70 were shown [65]. In order to measure entrepreneurial orientation, the scale created and validated by Covin and Slevin [66], composed of 8 items, was used. This scale has subsequently been used in sports organisations and has good psychometric properties [4,55], as was shown in the present study (α = 0.79). On the other hand, to measure passion for work, the five-item scale created by Locke [67], and later adapted by Baum and Locke [31], was used. This scale has presented adequate psychometric properties in other research [68] as well as in the present study (α = 0.88). Finally, as shown in Table 1, the outcome variables analysed were service quality and sporting performance. To measure service quality, the scale created and validated by Vorhies and Morgan [69] was used. This scale is composed of five items, and was previously used in to assess sports, presenting good psychometric properties [55], something that was also observed in the present study (α = 0.72). Finally, the sporting performance scale was composed of three items. It was created and validated by the authors and has shown good psychometric properties in other contributions [43] as well as in the present research (α = 0.94).

3.3. Procedure and Data Analysis

The analysed data were obtained through telephonic questionnaires that were completed by technicians or sports managers as well as by the presidents or boards of directors of the analysed sports clubs. The fundamental requirement of interviewees was that they had worked for a minimum of three years in the organisation and had a faithful and general vision of the situation in which the organisation operated from economic, social, and sporting perspectives. The questionnaires were conducted between December 2019 and February 2020, with an average response time of 14 min and 50 s.
In order to approach the purpose of this study methodologically, different statistical analyses were carried out. Firstly, descriptive analyses were conducted in order to communicate the sample’s profile, considering its sociodemographic characteristics. Subsequently, two different analyses were carried out so that we could contrast the results from both approaches. The first analysis involved hierarchical regression models (HRMs) performed through the statistical package SPSS version 25. These HRMs allowed the predictive capacity of a model and, subsequently, the extent to which the inclusion of a new variable could significantly increase the predictive capacity of the mentioned model to be checked. The second analysis carried out was the Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), which was performed using fsQCA (Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis, version 3.0, Irvine, CA, United States). This is a methodology that, after software calibration following the steps indicated by the author of the methodology [70], allows us to determine which variables are necessary and which are sufficient for the analysis.
The necessary variables are those that must be present for the desired result to be produced, while sufficient variables are those variables or combinations of variables that allow the expected result to be reached by different paths. For the sufficiency analysis, a truth table is created where the black circles expose the presence of the condition and the white circles show the absence of the condition. In addition, this study considered two of three solutions (parsimonious and intermediate) to differentiate between the core condition and peripheral condition. Whether a condition appears in the parsimonious and intermediate solutions is closely related to the final result. On the other hand, if the condition appears only in the intermediate solution, its causal relationship with the final result is weaker and it is considered a peripheral condition. The core condition is represented by a larger circle and the peripheral condition is represented by a considerably smaller circle [71].
The fsQCA analysis also allowed us to work with independent and dependent variables, considering the high values and low values of these variables; that is, it not only allowed us to determine what was needed to obtain high values of a dependent variable, but also what we should avoid in order to avoid having low levels of this variable.

4. Results

4.1. Hierarchical Regression Models (HRMs)

Regarding the analysis of the hierarchical regression models (hereinafter HRMs), two steps were established for the prediction of service quality and sporting performance (see Table 2). In each case, in the first step, the variables related to entrepreneurial orientation were included, while in the second, the same entrepreneurial orientation variables were included and, in addition, the passion for work variable was included as a new element. This sequence allowed us to check the predictive capacity of the model without considering passion, and subsequently, we were able to determine whether the inclusion of the passion for work variable significantly improved the model’s explanatory capacity. In the analysis, the results of the two steps are shown, where the value of the beta coefficient indicates the weight that a variable has in the explanation of the dependent variable (with values between 0 and 1), while the significance value indicates whether the explanatory capacity of that variable can be considered relevant.
As far as the prediction of the quality of service is concerned, in the first step, the variables related to risk assumption (β = 0.24; p < 0.01) and innovation (β = 0.18; p < 0.05) were shown to be influential, explaining 10% of the service quality (R2adj = 0.10). The beta coefficients showed that, in this case, risk assumption has a greater explanatory weight for the dependent variable than innovation. In the second step, which included the passion for work variable, risk-taking (β = 0.20; p < 0.01) and passion for work (β = 0.32; p < 0.001) were shown to significantly predict the service quality, resulting in a significant increase in the R2 value by 10% (ΔR2 = 0.10, p = 0.000), with passion having greater weight in that explanation. Finally, the model that included entrepreneurial orientation along with passion for work was found to be capable of predicting 19% of the service quality (R2adj = 0.19).
On the other hand, regarding sporting performance prediction, in the first step, risk-taking (β = 0.20; p < 0.01) was shown to be influential, explaining 9% of sporting performance (R2adj = 0.09). Subsequently, with the inclusion of passion for work in the second step, risk-taking (β = 0.18; p < 0.05) and passion for work (β = 0.15; p < 0.001) were shown to be influential, with a significant increase of 2% in the R2 value (ΔR2 = 0.02, p < 0.05) with risk-taking showing a slightly higher weight than passion in this explanation. This second model, which included passion for work, was capable of predicting 11% of sporting performance (R2adj = 0.11).

4.2. Fuzzy-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA)

As for the results of the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (hereinafter, fsQCA), firstly, the descriptive and calibration values are shown (see Table 3). Studies such as that by Ragin [70] indicate that these data should be shown as part of the procedure and that the calibration values should be obtained by multiplying the items that were part of the study.

4.2.1. Analysis of Necessary Conditions for Service Quality and Sporting Performance

In the analysis of necessary conditions (see Table 4), the scientific literature indicates that a variable should be considered necessary when its consistency value exceeds 0.90 for predicting a variable [70]. In the present study, no variable obtained such a value, so we can confirm that no variable is necessary, or in other words, no variable must be mandatorily present in the different combinations that may lead to the result.

4.2.2. Analysis of Sufficient Conditions for Service Quality and Sporting Performance

Finally, we show the sufficiency analysis results for the service quality and sporting performance explanation. As can be seen in Table 5, there are different combinations of variables that allow us to reach the expected result. To simplify the process, the three most relevant combinations are shown, except for the case of the prediction of low service quality, where there were only two combinations that could be used to reach that result. Following the suggestions of [71], the frequency cutoff was set at 1 and the consistency cutoff values were set above the 0.74 criterion in all cases, ranging from 0.76 to 0.83.
In terms of achieving high service quality values, the results suggest that we should aim for high levels of innovation and passion for work (raw coverage = 0.50; consistency = 0.81), high levels of risk-taking and passion (raw coverage = 0.51; consistency = 0.82), or high levels of risk-taking, innovation, and proactivity (raw coverage = 0.31; consistency = 0.82). On the contrary, in order to avoid low service quality, we should avoid having low levels of risk-taking and passion (raw coverage = 0.61; consistency = 0.83) or having low levels of innovation and passion (raw coverage = 0.52; consistency = 0.80).
On the other hand, to achieve a high level of sporting performance, the results indicate that we should try to achieve high levels of innovation and passion (raw coverage = 0.43; consistency = 0.78), high levels of risk-taking and passion (raw coverage = 0.45; consistency = 0.80), or high levels of risk-taking, innovation, and proactivity (raw coverage = 0.42; consistency = 0.80). Finally, in order to avoid low sporting performance values, the results suggest that we should avoid having low levels of risk-taking, innovation, and passion along with a high level of proactivity (raw coverage = 0.29; consistency = 0.78), low levels of risk-taking, proactivity, and passion along with a high level of innovation (raw coverage = 0.27; consistency = 0.76), or a high level of risk-taking along with low levels of innovation, proactivity, and passion for the job (raw coverage = 0.26; consistency = 0.76).

5. Discussion

In the present study, the role of entrepreneurial orientation in the improvement of perceived quality and sporting performance was analysed to understand how factors influencing service quality and sporting performance can contribute to the achievement and maintenance of greater economic and social sustainability. Within the entrepreneurial orientation, several dimensions were considered, as Doherty et al. [73] indicated that the evaluation of performance in organisations, perceived quality and sporting performance level in this case, must be analysed from a multidimensional perspective. This entrepreneurial orientation has been widely studied in organisational environments [12,74]. It has also been studied in terms of its roles in organisational performance and sustainability [75]. Although the literature in the sporting context is not as extensive, we also found some examples analysing its role [4,5,23].
The results show that, in the case of the HRM, aspects of entrepreneurial orientation, specifically risk-taking and innovation, help to significantly predict service quality. In this context, Hayduk and Walker [76] and Ratten [77] argue that the sports sector needs an entrepreneurial orientation. These authors stress the need to analyse the effect of OD on performance in detail. According to Bjarsholm [78], innovation in sports organisations is needed to make them more competitive. Along the same vein, a sports manager interviewed by Ratten [77] stated “the sport industry is very competitive. Every team wants new things. We need to constantly innovate and strive to do better. There is a constant pressure on us to do this” (p. 7). Innovation and risk-taking are dimensions that must be developed because of their wide influence on the final performance of the organisation and, consequently, on its economic sustainability. On the other hand, it has also been observed that risk-taking favours sporting performance, as was the case in other studies [5]. However, proactivity is the EO dimension with the least amount of influence on service quality and sporting performance. This may be because analysing a sports club and their competition and trying to anticipate the rest can be considered inherent aspects of the sports sector. According to Ratten [79], sports organisations are generally proactive.
Finally, it has also been observed that passion is an important element in predicting both service quality and sporting performance. The role of passion has not been widely studied in the sport sector in terms of sports clubs’ performance, but there are examples where it has been analysed at the organisational level [80,81,82] as well as in the sports environment [56,83]. According to Baum and Locke [30], it is an important element that is associated with positive organisational results. Therefore, the results of this study are in line with early approaches to the concept.
In relation to the fsQCA analysis, the results show that both the entrepreneurial orientation and passion dimensions are important elements that must be considered to both achieve high levels and avoid low levels of service quality and sporting performance. This fits in with Gupta et al. [84] idea that EO should be aligned with the passion of staff to translate into high performance. People who are passionate about an activity are capable of devoting a lot of time and effort to it. In this highly positive state, it is easier for them to find new resources to explore and good opportunities to exploit.
Despite the importance of the variables analysed on the economic and social sustainability of sports clubs, there are not many studies that have analysed these variables in the sports context. Studies using a dual methodological approach, such as the one carried out in this study, are even scarcer. In some examples of the literature, this varied approach allowed us to see that variables that seem not to have a relevant role in one approach are relevant in others; therefore, it is appropriate to carry out analyses from different methodological perspectives, as has been done in other studies on entrepreneurial orientation [23,85,86].

6. Conclusions

The results of this study allow us to conclude that, within the entrepreneurial orientation, risk-taking and innovation are important elements that help to explain service quality and sporting performance. Therefore, one of the ways to improve and strengthen economic and social sustainability is through the development of these variables. In addition, it has been shown that including passion for work in the analyses significantly improves the capacity of the models to explain these variables; therefore, this passion for work should be considered in similar studies in the sports field. These variables can have a significant impact on the sustainability of an organisation. It is thought that service quality may be more related to economic sustainability, while sport performance may find a stronger link to subsequent social sustainability. On the other hand, we conclude that there is no variable that must be mandatorily present in order to achieve high or low levels of service quality and sporting performance. Similarly, different combinations have been found to reach desired results, where both variables related to entrepreneurial orientation and passion for work have proven to be important.
Finally, regarding the performed methodologies, we also conclude that the methodological approach combining two perspectives enriched our results, since it allowed us to determine relations between variables and the associations between them that would have remained unattended with an individual approach. For instance, in the case of proactivity, this variable was not shown to have a significant influence in the HRM analysis, but it was shown to be an important part of some of the most relevant combinations in the fsQCA analysis.

7. Implications, Limitations, and Future Lines of Research

The achievement of economic sustainability and a high social impact by an organisation are objectives of the managers and directors of sports clubs. Therefore, in terms of implications, the results shown provide interesting and useful information. These results show which variables are influential in achieving better service quality and performance as well as showing which aspects should be avoided in order to avoid low levels for those variables. This information is undoubtedly interesting at a managerial level. This information also contributes to the provision of specific information on the study of these variables in the sports context, since there is not much literature on this topic. In this way, managers can become increasingly aware of the relationships established between the variables of interest, considering the characteristics and peculiarities of the sports context, which differ logically from other contexts because of elements that are inherent to sport. In addition, including new variables such as passion for work in the analysis provided unknown information in this specific context as well as information that may allow managers to better target strategies and actions with the intention of improving the variables of interest. In this sense, the results indicate that we should not only limit ourselves to already-known aspects in order to undertake successful management but that there are other aspects that allow us to better explain the results we are pursuing.
In terms of limitations, firstly, the sports clubs analysed were all from the same country, so we could not observe possible differences depending on the context or cultural factors. Similarly, all clubs were non-profit and the sample was not aleatory. On the other hand, since the intention was for preliminary exploration, no control variables were considered when performing the analysis. Therefore, in future lines of research, it would be interesting to try to collect a more varied sample of clubs, in terms of location and characteristics and also consider other variables that could be interesting for the analysis. This would allow us to see whether there are differences in terms of these characteristics and for the results to be more generalisable. On the other hand, it would be desirable to introduce this random component into the sample selection as well as to improve the data so that it does not just correspond to a specific temporal moment. In this way, we could see whether, in a longitudinal study with several measurements, time causes changes in the results of organisations regarding these variables.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, M.A. and P.E.-F.; methodology, A.M.G.-T.; software, M.A. and P.E.-F.; formal analysis, P.E.-F.; investigation, M.A.; resources, A.M.G.-T.; data curation, P.E.-F.; writing—original draft preparation, M.A.; writing—review and editing, A.M.G.-T.; supervision, A.M.G.-T.; project administration, M.A.; funding acquisition, A.M.G.-T. and P.E.-F. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by Generalitat Valenciana, grant number GV/2019/133. The first author of this study received funding from the predoctoral scholarship “ACIF/2017/294” financed by the European Social Fund.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Informed consent was obtained from all clubs and subjects involved in the study.

Data Availability Statement

Not applicable.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the clubs that participated in the study for their willingness and collaboration, allowing the data collected to be the best possible.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Table
Table 1. Scales and items used.
Table 1. Scales and items used.
VariableDimensionItem
Entrepreneurial orientation (EO) Risk-takingOur organisation stresses the use of a fully delegated policy for employees
Our organisation gives individuals or teams the freedom to develop new ideas
In general, the management team of our organisation has a strong tendency to be ahead of other organisations in introducing novel services or ideas
InnovationOur organisation encourages and stimulates technological, service delivery and administrative innovation
Our organisation stimulates creativity and experimentation
Our organisation’s innovative initiatives are hard for our rivals to successfully imitate
ProactivityIn dealing with our rivals, our organisation typically initiates actions which they respond to
In dealing with our rivals, our organisation is very often the first to introduce new services and technologies applied to training and/or management, etc.
Passion for workOur top level of management derives most of their life satisfaction from working hard
Our top level of management loves to work hard
Our top level of management looks forward to returning work when they are away from it
Individuals in our top level of management accomplish a lot because they love to work hard
Sometimes our top management team wish that they could work harder when they are not
Service qualityThe service quality we offer to our athletes, members, and/or subscribers has improved
We achieve the satisfaction of athletes, members, and/or subscribers
We provide value to athletes, members, and/or subscribers
We offer our athletes, members, and/or subscribers what they want
We retain important athletes, members, and/or subscribers
Sporting performanceOur organisation has achieved its sports objectives
Most of our teams have improved their results compared with previous seasons
In general, the sporting level of our organisation has improved
Table
Table 2. Hierarchical regression models to predict service quality and sporting performance.
Table 2. Hierarchical regression models to predict service quality and sporting performance.
VariableService QualitySporting Performance
PredictorsΔR2βΔR2β
Step 10.113 *** 0.10 ***
EO risk-taking 0.24 ** 0.20 **
EO innovation 0.18 * 0.15
EO proactivity −0.02 0.06
Step 20.097 *** 0.02 *
EO risk-taking 0.20 ** 0.18 *
EO innovation 0.12 0.12
EO proactivity 0.006 0.07
Passion 0.32 *** 0.15 *
Total R2adjusted0.19 *** 0.11 ***
Note: * p < 0.05; ** p < 0.01; *** p < 0.001. ΔR2 = Change in R2. Β = Beta standardised coefficient.
Table
Table 3. Descriptive and calibration values.
Table 3. Descriptive and calibration values.
RTINPRPSSQSP
Mean208.09151.9123.887.896.558.461.51231.97
SD80.6384.0211.025.339.724.957.1191.58
Minimum11112161
Maximum3433434916.80716.807343
Calibration values
Percentiles101004081.0242.058120
50216144257.7767.776216
903432523616.80716.807343
Note. RT: risk taking; IN: Innovation; PR: Proactivity; PS: Passion; SQ: service quality; RD: sporting performance.
Table
Table 4. Necessary conditions for service quality and sporting performance.
Table 4. Necessary conditions for service quality and sporting performance.
SQ~SQSP~SP
ConsCovConsCovConsCovConsCov
EO risk-taking0.690.730.520.560.630.740.540.52
~EO risk-taking0.580.550.750.710.590.610.730.62
EO innovation0.690.660.580.560.650.700.590.51
~EO innovation0.540.560.650.680.540.620.650.61
EO proactivity0.650.650.590.610.630.700.580.53
~EO proactivity0.610.590.660.660.580.630.680.60
Passion0.690.730.490.540.600.720.530.52
~Passion0.570.520.760.710.590.610.710.59
Note. ~: absence of condition; Cons: consistency; Cov: coverage; Condition needed: consistency ≥ 0.90; SQ: service quality; SP: sporting performance.
Table
Table 5. Analysis of sufficient conditions for service quality and sporting performance.
Table 5. Analysis of sufficient conditions for service quality and sporting performance.
Frequency Cutoff: 1SQ~SQSP~SP
Consistency Cutoff: 0.82Consistency Cutoff: 0.83Consistency Cutoff: 0.82Consistency Cutoff: 0.76
12312123123
EO risk-taking-●●○--●●○○●
EO innovation●-●-○●-●○●○
EO proactivity--●----●●○○
Passion●●-○○●●-○○○
Consistency0.810.820.820.830.800.780.800.800.780.760.76
Raw Coverage0.500.510.310.610.520.430.450.420.290.280.26
Unique Coverage0.100.060.060.150.050.080.090.110.060.060.07
Overall Solution Consistency0.780.790.760.75
Overall Solution Coverage0.670.670.630.43
Note: ●= presence of condition, ○ = absence of condition. ~: low levels of condition. SQ: service quality; SP: Sporting performance. Expected vector for service quality: 1.1.1.1.1 (0: absent; 1: present), Expected vector for ~ service quality: 0.0.0.0.0. Expected vector for sporting performance: 1.1.1.1 (0: absent; 1: present), Expected vector for ~ sporting performance: 0.0.0.0. Using the format of Fiss [72].
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Escamilla-Fajardo, P.; Alguacil, M.; Gómez-Tafalla, A.M. Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Passion for Work on Performance Variables in Sports Clubs. Sustainability 2021, 13, 2920. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052920

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Escamilla-Fajardo P, Alguacil M, Gómez-Tafalla AM. Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Passion for Work on Performance Variables in Sports Clubs. Sustainability. 2021; 13(5):2920. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052920

Chicago/Turabian Style

Escamilla-Fajardo, Paloma, Mario Alguacil, and Ana M. Gómez-Tafalla. 2021. "Effects of Entrepreneurial Orientation and Passion for Work on Performance Variables in Sports Clubs" Sustainability 13, no. 5: 2920. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13052920

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