A study on the not-for-profit route to olympic gold

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate a Not-for-Profit (NFP) model for development and support of sports at elite level. This research investigates, Olympic Gold Quest, a NFP organization in India to understand and analyse the factors that contribute to its success in developing sports at elite level and as an NFP to solicit funds for support. Design/ Methodology/ Approach-The research is based on the case analysis of the organization, Olympic Gold Quest (OGQ). The analysis was done through in-depth interviews of various stakeholders of the organization such as directors, donors, employees, athletes, fans and sports enthusiasts. These were supplemented by information from other sources such as scholarly papers, annual reports of organizations working in similar space, online sources and videos interviews on video sharing websites. Findings– The analysis shows that there are two elements of OGQ‟s success, the first one is related to the success in sports development and the second aspect is related to its success as a NFP organization. The factors leading to its success in sports domain are due to its stringent selection process of athletes, a strategy based on focus investments, bringing together expertise support and fast support response. The essential factors of OGQ‟s success as a NFP are related to creating legitimacy, transparency, beneficiary management and expertise in marketing. Originality/Value – The literature in the domain of development of sport at the elite level is limited. This paper is possibly one of the rare ones that examine the role of a NFP in working towards development of sports at elite level. This research is set in the context of an emerging country and highlights issues related to sports development in emerging economies and contributes to the literature in this domain. Implications/Limitations–We contribute to the literature on sports development and Notfor- Profits. This study proposes NFPs as a viable model to support sports development for elite sports and identifies its success factors. Insights from this research can be applied to develop similar models for supporting sports in other emerging countries.