Organisational development in sport: co‐creation of value through social capital

Abstract

Purpose

Empowered by Web 2.0 and social media, consumers join online communities and produce social capital. They generate information for online communities by sharing their knowledge, information and experience, and thus support organisational learning. Co‐creation of value with consumers instead of co‐creation of value for consumers is a new strategy for organisational development. The purpose of this paper is to investigate social factors introduced through social media to sport organisations in the co‐creation of value with fans.

Design/methodology/approach

This research adopts social capital and social support theory and investigates the way sport organisations can apply social relationship with fans in online communities in order to co‐create value for organisational development. The study looks at the current literature and the potential theoretical development for organisational learning.

Findings

Social interaction of individuals through social media and online communities has introduced co‐creation of value with customers. This behaviour originates from the supportive climate that has emerged through Web 2.0, where individuals share their information, knowledge, and experience through online communities. This co‐creation offers online social support as a source of social capital for organisations. The results can be beneficial for the development of sport organisations in the co‐creation of value with fans.

Research limitations/implications

The clear implication of the research would be whether sport organisations can develop virtual communities and offer rich means that facilitate individuals' interactions. The research highlights the theoretical foundation and opportunities for sport organisational development. However, the study does not provide an empirical test of the theory. Therefore, an empirical test of the research theory is a future research direction.

Originality/value

This research investigates social factors introduced through social media to sport organisations in the co‐creation of value with fans. The contribution of the research is to provide the theoretical bases for a new research area for sport organisational development through social media. Sport organisations can learn from the social interactions of their fans and develop their strategies. This research shows how sport organisations can use social capital theory and online social support to progress in the industry.

Citation

Hajli, M. and Hajli, M. (2013), "Organisational development in sport: co‐creation of value through social capital", Industrial and Commercial Training, Vol. 45 No. 5, pp. 283-288. https://doi.org/10.1108/ICT-01-2013-0001