Why are major sports events trapped in the winner's curse? A case study of the 2017 World Road Cycling Championship

Author's accepted version (postprint).This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Emerald in Sport, Business and Management on 07/12/2021.Available online: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/SBM-12-2020-0132/full/htmlPurpose – This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner’s curse, in which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on acquiring and hosting it than what it is worth in economic terms. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a combination of document analysis and 47 in-depth interviews with 51 individuals representing various private and public organisations involved in the implementation of the UCI 2017 Road Cycling World Championship. Snowball sampling and a semi-structured interview guide were used to ensure coverage of all relevant information. Findings – The organiser and the host municipal lacked the necessary experience with events of this size and character. Information from previous championships events was not transferred, and the municipality administration did not utilise experiences from hosting previous events. Limited financial resources prevented the organiser from hiring enough employees with the necessary competence. Lack of communication between the stakeholders who contributed in hosting the event reduced the quality of planning and preparations. A dubious culture and lack of seriousness within the Norwegian Cycling Federation, which was the owner of organising company, seemed to have been transferred to organiser. Originality/value – The research identifies some of the reasons why major sports events so often turns out to be more problematic than expected in economic terms, not only for the organiser but also for actors in the public sector in the host city. The novelty is that it goes into depth on the underlying reasons and the dynamic forces behind these problems.acceptedVersio

The role of management control systems in the performing arts

Summary of the thesis Over recent decades the arts sector has faced an increased focus on economic factors. Following this, there has been an increased demand for evaluation regarding economic measures. Economic measures, and the focus on commercialism and profit-based arguments, however, contains fundamental differences from the performance arts’ more intangible benefits for the larger community. Management accounting and control have thus often been regarded as detached from the range and complexity of artistic work. The primary aim of this dissertation, however, is not to address the challenges and problems with management controls in the performing arts field, but to go beyond these issues by studying the role, more specifically the design and use, of management controls within this field. By studying the role of management controls in the Norwegian performing arts sector, this dissertation not only responds to calls for research on arts organisations, but also contributes to the growing literature on management accounting and control in the popular culture and more generally to research on the role of management controls in the context they operate. The aim of the dissertation is addressed in four individual papers with different objectives, theoretical frameworks and research methods. Paper 1 analyses the role of performance measures in the Norwegian symphony orchestra field. Prior research has claimed that the coexistence of institutional logics may create tension and conflict, and the paper investigates how the role of performance measures is influenced by the multiple institutional logics in this field. The study found little conflict due to the performance measures, and the paper shows that multiple logics can be embedded in organisations in heterogeneous ways and have different implications, as a number of factors may act as filters on the way different logics shape the role of performance measures. Paper 2 is a case study of a large Norwegian festival that had faced large financial difficulties because of budget deficits, and subsequently designed and implemented a new budget system to regain financial control. The paper, hence aims to investigate the design and use of budgets under conditions unique to a festival, and sets out to add to knowledge regarding how budgets can contribute to the financial outcome of festivals, without tempering with artistic quality. Accordingly, the paper places itself into the dilemma between creativity and management control, as it questions how the budget, as a management control tool, can integrate creativity with management control. Paper 3 builds on the findings from Paper 2, and is based on survey data from 48 of the largest Norwegian festivals to investigate further the use of budgets in festivals. The study sets out from traditional budget critique and the problems related to budgeting. However, this criticism has not led organisations to reject budgets, and recent research show the overall satisfaction with budgets is good. The first aim of the paper is, hence to describe the use of budgets in Norwegian festivals. Previous research also shows that perceived environmental uncertainty influences budgeting practices, and the second aim of the paper is thus to investigate the relation between perceived environmental uncertainty and the use of budgets in Norwegian festivals. Paper 4 is a further exploration of the use of management control tools, primarily budgets, in Norwegian festivals. As Paper 3, Paper 4 also builds on the contingency theory, where the design and use of management controls is showed to be a consequence of organisation-specific characteristics. However, whereas Paper 3 builds on the contingency factor of perceived environmental uncertainty, this paper takes the outset from upper echelons theory and investigates the variation in control system design and how this is associated with the personal characteristics of festival leaders

Orchestrating institutional complexity and performance management in the performing arts

This paper investigates the integration between institutional complexity and performance management in the field of performing arts. Prior research has documented tension related to how performance measures and management tools are used in arts organizations, and the conflict is often explained as being a result of the intrusion of business‐like accounting tools into the exercise of the arts. Drawing on the concept of institutional logics, the findings of the current study suggest that a diversity of logics is salient in this organizational field. The performance measurement system is confronted with multiple logics, and the study shows how the role of performance management is shaped by this institutional complexity

Managerial characteristics and budget use in festival organizations

Festivals are an important part of popular culture and have increased in popularity in recent decades. However, they remain relatively unexplored in the accounting literature, and understanding of the use of management control tools in this context is low. This study aims to investigate the use of budgets in festivals. Informed by upper echelons theory, it investigates how individual and observable characteristics of festival managers are associated with variations in the use of budgets. The study is based on a survey of 61 festival managers from 40 festivals. The findings suggest that festival budgets are particularly important in the planning and coordination process but used less frequently for ex post evaluations. The findings also indicate a positive association between a business educational background and the use of budgets for most purposes, with the exceptions of performance evaluation and reward. This paper contributes to the literature on accounting in popular culture in general and in festivals specifically. Through its application of upper echelons theory, it also contributes to the management accounting and control literature, showing how individual characteristics of managers influence the use of budgets

EUs nye retningslinjer for foretaksrapportering av klimarelaterte opplysninger – byggverk på utrygg grunn?

I de siste årene har det i økende grad blitt fokusert på klima og bærekraft. Dette er en utvikling som også har fått økt oppmerksomhet i virksomheters rapportering, og en rekke aktører tar i bruk nye kriterier knyttet til bærekraft i sine retningslinjer og modeller for økonomiske beslutninger. Med utgangspunkt i regnskapsdirektivet har EU-kommisjonen utgitt retningslinjer for rapportering fra store foretak om ikke-finansiell informasjon. I dette kapittelet bygger vi på kunnskap fra utviklingen av finansiell rapportering og kriterier som har blitt utviklet for å forbedre og understøtte denne, og vurderer fundamentet for retningslinjer for rapportering av klimarelaterte opplysninger. Kapittelet bygger på en dokumentanalyse for å belyse grunnleggende forutsetninger om rapporteringsenhet, rapporteringens formål og kvalitetskriterier for ikke-finansiell foretaksrapportering. Dokumentanalysens resultat indikerer at kravene til ikke-finansiell rapportering kan videreutvikles med hensyn til systematikk og konsistens tilsvarende det som er utviklet for finansiell rapportering. Grunnlaget for rapportering av ikke-finansiell informasjon fremstår som uklart med hensyn til rapporteringsenhet, rapporteringens formål og sentrale kvalitetskriterier. Med bakgrunn i analysen foreslås det at det bør utvikles kvalitetskriterier for ikke-finansiell informasjon basert på kvalitetskrav til informasjon IFRS konseptuelt rammeverk for finansiell rapportering. Det er også behov for økt forskning innen ikke-finansiell rapportering

“The school band and the Kulturskole are a single 'thing'”: Exploring co-production between the public sector and a non-governmental organisation

This paper explores how a non-governmental organisation, a school band, and the municipal school of music and performing arts (the Kulturskole) collaborate to provide music education. Drawing on the concept of co-production, this paper investigates a case where the Kulturskole and the school band jointly deliver and plan the service of music education. The findings suggest that co-production in this case was perceived to be beneficial in terms of both efficiency and learning. Other broader outcomes were also detected, such as a strengthening of social bonds in the local society. The findings further suggest that in order to make co-production work, it is necessary to establish well-functioning organisational structures and good communication and knowledge transfer between the participants. Hence, the results in this paper inform the development of co-production as a mechanism to bring together a variety of stakeholders in the delivery and planning of arts education

Why are major sports events trapped in the winner's curse? A case study of the 2017 World Road Cycling Championship

Purpose – This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner’s curse, in which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on acquiring and hosting it than what it is worth in economic terms. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a combination of document analysis and 47 in-depth interviews with 51 individuals representing various private and public organisations involved in the implementation of the UCI 2017 Road Cycling World Championship. Snowball sampling and a semi-structured interview guide were used to ensure coverage of all relevant information. Findings – The organiser and the host municipal lacked the necessary experience with events of this size and character. Information from previous championships events was not transferred, and the municipality administration did not utilise experiences from hosting previous events. Limited financial resources prevented the organiser from hiring enough employees with the necessary competence. Lack of communication between the stakeholders who contributed in hosting the event reduced the quality of planning and preparations. A dubious culture and lack of seriousness within the Norwegian Cycling Federation, which was the owner of organising company, seemed to have been transferred to organiser. Originality/value – The research identifies some of the reasons why major sports events so often turns out to be more problematic than expected in economic terms, not only for the organiser but also for actors in the public sector in the host city. The novelty is that it goes into depth on the underlying reasons and the dynamic forces behind these problems

Why are major sports events trapped in the winner's curse? A case study of the 2017 World Road Cycling Championship

Purpose – This paper sought to determine how a major sport event can become trapped in a winner’s curse, in which the fierce competition to host the event forces organisers to spend more on acquiring and hosting it than what it is worth in economic terms. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a combination of document analysis and 47 in-depth interviews with 51 individuals representing various private and public organisations involved in the implementation of the UCI 2017 Road Cycling World Championship. Snowball sampling and a semi-structured interview guide were used to ensure coverage of all relevant information. Findings – The organiser and the host municipal lacked the necessary experience with events of this size and character. Information from previous championships events was not transferred, and the municipality administration did not utilise experiences from hosting previous events. Limited financial resources prevented the organiser from hiring enough employees with the necessary competence. Lack of communication between the stakeholders who contributed in hosting the event reduced the quality of planning and preparations. A dubious culture and lack of seriousness within the Norwegian Cycling Federation, which was the owner of organising company, seemed to have been transferred to organiser. Originality/value – The research identifies some of the reasons why major sports events so often turns out to be more problematic than expected in economic terms, not only for the organiser but also for actors in the public sector in the host city. The novelty is that it goes into depth on the underlying reasons and the dynamic forces behind these problems