The Diminishing Participation in Badminton

Abstract

Since the glory days of 1988, when the sport of badminton was the second most popular sport in Denmark, it has seen a rapid decline in active members. Badminton Denmark and DGI Badminton have chosen to cooperate to change the negative tendency by offering assistance and guidance to all Danish badminton clubs. Though this has proven beneficial for the sport, as a small rise in active members indicates, this measure is not radical enough. There is a need for a change in the sport´s perception of how to provide the service, in order to keep up with the competitive market. This thesis will investigate how an entrepreneurial renewal of the sport of badminton and a new perception of being a provider of the service can lead to an increased participation in badminton. In order to create an entrepreneurial renewal, Kuratko, Morris and Covin's four elements of entrepreneurship are used, and a collective understanding of the consumer is outlined. The entrepreneurial process involves cooperating on a national level, implementing a mission for all badminton clubs in Denmark, in order to create a sense of direction, limit internal rivalry and establish an image of clubs as colleagues. Furthermore each badminton club needs to have its own strategic vision, in order to penetrate the local market most efficiently. Knowledge management and knowledge sharing are suggested as means of creating value in the marketplace and in the sport of badminton. Nonaka’s framework is used in order to secure, develop and embed existing knowledge within the organization and the organizational culture. To create value in the marketplace, knowledge sharing between badminton clubs is suggested as a way to develop existing knowledge and create new knowledge, making a more valuable service in the marketplace. In order to put resources together in a unique way the VCI model is used. The model shows how to create a consistent collaborative image of the sport by combining strategic vision with local club culture and branding. In order to utilize opportunity-driven behaviour, the sport of badminton needs resources to grasp the opportunities that originate. The importance of a volunteer strategy in order to manage and recruit volunteers and engage in opportunity-driven behaviour is outlined. In the discussion, entrepreneurial collaboration is seen as beneficial for the sport of badminton’s ability to attract new members to the sport. It was found to have a positive effect on the image of the sport as well as give multiple benefits for the badminton clubs, as these were now able to share resources and utilize each other strengths for a greater benefit for both clubs. An entrepreneurial renewal of Badminton Denmark and DGI Badminton is found to be applicable and advantageous to the sport of badminton.