Från styrning till licens

: en undersökning av ekonomistyrning i relation till elitlicensefterlevnad inom svensk elitidrot

Abstract

Elite sports clubs in Sweden are subject to an elite licensing system that imposes
requirements for compliance in areas such as finance, organization, and education.
This study investigates how management control is applied within elite sports clubs
and how different control mechanisms influence compliance with the elite license.
The aim of the study is to examine how management control is implemented in
Swedish elite sports clubs and to explain how different forms of control affect
compliance with the elite license. Based on established theories and prior research,
a model was developed that includes both formal and informal control tools. The
model was tested through a quantitative research approach, where a survey was
distributed to all top-division clubs in football and handball. Descriptive statistics,
correlation analyses, and Wilcoxon Signed-Ranks tests were used to analyze the
responses.
The result shows that both formal and informal forms of governance are used by
elite sports associations for their financial management. Formal control tools such
as budgets, calculations and certification rules are common in elite sports
associations. The results, which are based on three different hypotheses, show,
however, that informal control tools, especially cultural factors and organizational
resources, have a stronger relationship with compliance with the elite license than
formal control tools. The results have led to the original model being modified to
show that it is informal control tools and organizational resources that have the
overall contribution to compliance with the elite license.

Date of Award	2025-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Elin Smith (Supervisor), Gert Paulsson (Assessor) & Heléne Tjärnemo (Examiner)