Anna-Maria Strittmatter

• Hanstad, Dag Vidar; Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Johansen, Bjørn Tore & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2026). The fine line between deliberate play and deliberate practice within talent development in grassroots football: evidence from a one-year longitudinal case study. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. 8. doi: 10.3389/fspor.2026.1799878. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Introduction: While former studies into talent development in football have considered elite clubs and retrospective studies, this single-case study provides detailed data on the training activities of a 13-year-old male football player in a grassroots club who later became a professional at the highest level in Norway.Methods: An intrinsic longitudinal single-case study design was adopted to develop an in-depth, contextually grounded understanding of the load and forms of physical activity within and beyond organized football as performed and experienced by one specific player over the course of a full year in a grassroots football environment. The empirical material includes daily logging and categorization of all activities in a training dairy, with notes provided by the player - and supplemented with in-depth semi-structured interview with the player.Results: The dataset comprises 733 h of activity over one year, the majority of which consisted of organized football-specific activity (team training: 196 h; matches including warm-up: 84; private football academy training: 110). In addition, the player engaged in 157 h of unorganized football (alone: 79; with friends: 78), sport-related school activities (physical education: 59; unorganized football play in the schoolyard: 28), and 99 h of individual non–football-specific training such as strength training, injury-prevention exercise, and recreational activities including cross-country skiing and family leisure.Discussion: This case from grassroots football demonstrates substantial variation between deliberate practice and deliberate play. Two categories that are conceptually distinct yet appear equally important in the developmental pathway. At the same time, some training forms represent a blend of play and practice. For instance, unorganized football with friends in this study displays several characteristics typically associated with deliberate practice, whereas team training with a coach also contains elements of play.

• Sharpe, Stirling; Herold, David M.; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fujak, Hunter & Dixon, Jess (2026). The LIV disruption of global elite golf tournaments and its ripple effects: an institutional analysis. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics. ISSN 1743-0437. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2026.2671396. Full text in Research Archive
• Valiyeva, Dilara; Hermanrud, Inge & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2026). Reimagining social inclusion in sports through sports Megaevents: Indigenous Peoples and Olympic bids. Journal of Sport for Development. 13(2), p. 82–97. doi: https:/jsfd.org/2026/04/03/reimagining-social-inclusion-in-sports-through-sports-mega-events-indigenous-peoples-and-olympic-bids/. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Within the settler and nation-states, the idea of social inclusion clashes with the rights of Indigenous Peoples for self-determination and sovereignty, as distinctive Indigenous worldviews and historical assimilation processes are not being considered. Inclusion, in most cases, presupposes assimilation into mainstream sports models. Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars call for reconsidering the core ideas of social inclusion. This paper explores how social inclusion in and through sport mega-events is understood and experienced by Sámi and non-Indigenous people. With the help of Árbediehtu (Sámi traditional knowledge) and critical thematic analysis (CTA), we suggest a more nuanced approach to social inclusion with and for Indigenous Peoples, which includes: (a) identity and cultural safety, (b) value of Indigenous cultures and knowledge, and (c) historical and current needs and backgrounds. Despite the broad political argumentation that the sports context provides great opportunities for inclusion, our results suggest that sports is a difficult context for enacting an Indigenous identity. The difficulty lies among other things in the sport-for-all policy view, in which Sámi do not always (want to) identify with. The findings can inform future sports event organisers and policy makers within mainstream sports system.

• Strömberg, Julius Zackarias; Fahlen, Josef & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2025). Mapping values in sport clubs: towards a conceptual typology for understanding the bettering of grassroots sport governance. European Sport Management Quarterly. ISSN 1618-4742. p. 22–22. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2025.2582559. Full text in Research Archive
• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika; Skille, Eivind Åsrum & Fahlen, Josef (2024). Youth representatives as agents of institutional change: the circumscribing effects of role prescriptions in sport governance. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. ISSN 1940-6940. 16(3), p. 449–463. doi: 10.1080/19406940.2024.2356593. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Conceptualising the youth representative as an institutional role, we explore the institutional shaping of youth representatives as change agents in the governance of sport organisations. Focusing on how these shaping conditions who the youth representative can be and what determines the scope of their role fulfilment, including the impact of their work on established institutional orders, allows us to examine the shaping of agency related to governance institutions. Data is drawn from a questionnaire centred on the experiences of young people in sport governance (n = 32) and semi-structured interviews with 10 representatives of organisations affiliated with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederations of Sports. The role of the youth representatives is scripted in terms of who the representatives ought to be and what they ought to do. The scripting associated with the operationalisation of this ambition into role pre- and proscriptions stands in stark contrast to the ideal of youth representatives as agents of institutional change. Our study of the scripting of institutional roles has theoretical implications because it shows how normative typifications that link notions of actors with actorhood circumscribe institutional work pertaining to change.

• Rasmussen, Sofus; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skirstad, Berit (2024). Institutional work as response to institutional complexities in hybrid elite sport and sport for all organizations. European Sport Management Quarterly. ISSN 1618-4742. 24(6), p. 1298–1320. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2024.2309064. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research question: This study aimed to examine how actors across different organizational levels respond to institutional complexity when facilitating elite sport and sport for all. By applying institutional work to understand responses to institutional complexity better, we examined the individual actors’ organizational roles and why and how they transformed the complexity in performing day-to-day work. Research methods: Data were collected in a bottom-up approach using qualitative focus groups and in-depth interviews. 149 representatives within Norwegian sport organizations contributed to the study, including coaches, club managers, directors, managers in national sport organizations, and the president of the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) Results and findings: Institutional complexity is differently characterized at the different organizational levels. One common issue across levels is that the institutional complexity of sport for all and elite sport is seen as challenging, especially in the local sport clubs where institutional logics turn into day-to-day activity. The main source of the challenge is unifying the youth players and practitioners’ different skills and ambitions, which propagates upwards in the organization. How actors respond to complexity varies within the organizational levels and the different sports. Tensions stemming from complexity are often neglected by the political argument of ‘the trickle down and up effects’, which to a considerable extent lacks empirical evidence. Implications: We recommend local sport managers prioritize expectation management to counteract a conflict of interests between institutional logics. It is necessary that national governing bodies better align their policies with the interest and organizational capacity of local clubs.

• Valiyeva, Dilara; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Hermanrud, Inge (2024). Inclusion of Indigenous Peoples in Olympic legacy-shaping processes. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. ISSN 1012-6902. 59(8), p. 1211–1230. doi: 10.1177/10126902241253856. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Scholars emphasise the need to understand how contested concepts, like social inclusion and legacy, are interpreted within specific contexts. However, there are a lack of critical studies on social legacies of sports mega-events. This study aims to analyse how social inclusion of marginalised groups is constructed in the legacy-shaping process of and bidding for the Olympic Games. Three cases were chosen in which the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples was stated as one of the goals of the bidding and organising committees: Sydney 2000, Vancouver 2010 and Tromsø 2014, 2018 bids. Translation theory and critical discourse analysis were used to understand how inclusion and legacy efforts are taken into action. The cases spread across space, time and bidding stage did not provide unique approaches to the formulations of legacies and inclusion. Despite the highlighted celebration of culture and diversity of communities in the documents, we interpret the inclusion discourse as a symbolic appreciation of Indigenous Peoples with attempts to address and solve the challenges connected to social exclusion. However, these attempts are characterised by postcolonial and assimilation thinking. A broader commitment is needed to create lasting social change through long-term initiatives created with and led by Indigenous Peoples.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Horbel, Chris; Traberg, Josephine; Strömberg, Julius Zackarias; Bodemar, Gun Annika Viola & Grønkjær, Allan B. [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2024). Prioritization of the Sustainable Development Goals in the sustainability transition process of sport organizations: national strategies and sport managers’ perspectives. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research. ISSN 2509-3142. 55, p. 94–103. doi: 10.1007/s12662-024-00985-z. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study explores the relevance, and applicability, of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to Norwegian sport organizations’ sustainability transition. The following research questions guided the study: (1) How do National Sport Governing Bodies (NGBs) strategically address and prioritize SDGs and why? (2) How does the strategic prioritization of SDGs align with sport managers’ perspectives? (3) What does their prioritization of SDGs imply about the progress of sustainability transition within the Norwegian sports sector? The qualitative study is based on three interviews with directors in NGBs, document analysis of 11 strategy documents by six NGBs’ and essays produced by 82 sport managers representing the respective NGBs. Data analysis was informed by neo-institutional theory and the waves of sustainability transition framework. In our sample, spanning a diverse range of sports, we observed that 10 different SDGs are seen as relevant for NGBs from a strategy perspective, while sport managers prioritized eight. There is a strong alignment between national strategies and sport managers’ perspectives which is explainable through coercive, mimetic and normative pressures within the organizational field of sports. This further demonstrates that SDG prioritization is linked to the sport political context. While the alignment of prioritization from different perspectives provides a solid foundation for advancing sustainability work, the missing link between the SDGs and organizational goals with concrete suggestions for measures witnesses that Norwegian sport organizations are still in the infancy of sustainable transition.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika & Fahlen, Josef (2024). Structural and Cultural Othering: An Organizational Culture Perspective on Young People’s Participation in Decision-making in Sport Organizations. Young - Nordic Journal of Youth Research. ISSN 1103-3088. 32(4), p. 360–377. doi: 10.1177/11033088241237386. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The purpose of this article is to examine the role played by organizational culture in young people’s continuing underrepresentation in decision-making bodies, despite structural changes, in the context of Norwegian sport organizations. Data is based on a questionnaire centred on the experiences of young people in sport governance (n = 32 youth representatives) and semi-structured interviews with young (under 26 years) and older representatives of organizations affiliated with the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederations of Sports (n = 10). Findings show that Norwegian sport organizations foster a cultural understanding of young people which takes its structural expression in the separation of elements that are ‘othering’ the youth. Youth have also limited access to resources of power as a result of a lack of trust in older leaders. Prevailing culture mirrors an adult society in which young people need to upgrade their level of professionalism through education before they are invited to decision-making processes.

• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Stenling, Cecilia & Fahlén, Josef (2024). The professionalization of the role of the coach: transforming the last bastion of the Scandinavian welfare-sport model. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics. ISSN 1743-0437. 27(12), p. 1994–2013. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2024.2411779. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Coaching in Scandinavia is characterized by tensions between voluntary ideals and increased demands for professionalization. This paper examines the origins and content of such demands, how voluntary run and governed football clubs translate them into practices, and the impact of professionalization on the coach role. Within an organizational perspective, our analysis is framed by institutional theory and a translation perspective and draw on data from interviews with representatives of Norwegian football clubs. The results show how demands for professionalization are translated into (new) practices in football clubs and lead to (more) professionalization of the coach role. In a ‘top-down’ trajectory, professionalization is characterized by bureaucratization driven by a need to satisfy the Norwegian Football Federation and Norwegian Elite Football. In a ‘bottom-up’ trajectory, professionalization is characterized by individualization driven by pressures from members to tailor-make the club’s service offer. In a ‘trickle-sideways’ trajectory, professionalization is characterized by marketization driven by the establishment of private football academies that exert pressure on football clubs to adapt to a more customer-oriented membership base. In conclusion, this examination highlights the multidimensional character of the professionalization of the coach role and emphasizes the need for further research on the broader ramifications of professionalization in contexts characterized by voluntary ideals.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Lindsey, Iain; O'Gorman, Jimmy & Hayton, John W. (2023). Coaching children and youth sport policy. In Toms, Martin & Jeanes, Ruth (Ed.), Routledge handbook of coaching children in sport. Routledge. ISSN 9781032058191. p. 395–404. doi: 10.4324/9781003199359-44. Full text in Research Archive
• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika & Fahlen, Josef (2023). Private football academies—friend or foe? An analysis of Norwegian media's framing of arguments about private football academies and the monopoly of organized sport. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. ISSN 1012-6902. 58(8), p. 1263–1281. doi: 10.1177/10126902231164903. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Private football academies challenge the monopoly of Norwegian voluntary and democratic sport. Using field theory and framing approach as analytical perspectives, this article presents a media analysis that reveals that, first, association football and private academies agree on the fact that Norwegian football is not good enough and must improve. Second, they disagree on whether to improve it within association football exclusively or supplemented by private actors that are inspired by the international football field. Third, there is a negative popular view of private academies as too expensive, unconcerned with children's best interests, in violation of Norwegian sport's regulations for children's sport, and—in sum—thus being accused of destroying ‘sport for all’. However, by employing the analytical concepts of habitus and fields, the article also shows how actors partake in several subfields—often on both sides of the private—association border.

• Säfvenbom, Reidar; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Bernhardsen, Guro Pauck (2023). Developmental Outcomes for Young People Participating in Informal and Lifestyle Sports: A Scoping Review of the Literature, 2000–2020. Social Sciences. 12(5). doi: 10.3390/socsci12050299. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The aim of this study is to review the literature on lifestyle sports and lifestyle sport contexts with regard to the developmental potential they may represent in young people’s everyday lives. The review applies a relational developmental systems approach to youth development. The eligibility criteria are based on the phenomenon of interest and outcomes. Hence, we include studies examining the associations between young people performing lifestyle sports and potential developmental outcomes: mental, biological, social, and behavioral. The present study shows that the volume of research on informal lifestyle sport is rather extensive and that studies on the way these activity contexts may affect developmental processes in youth are diverse and wide ranging. The studies suggest that performing lifestyle sports may have several beneficial health and skills outcomes. Furthermore, positive associations are suggested between involvement in lifestyle sport contexts such as climbing, snowboarding, parkour, tricking, kiting, and surfing and (a) mental outcomes such joy, happiness, freedom, euphoria, motivation, self-efficacy, and well-being; (b) social outcomes such as gender equality, network building, social inclusion, interaction, friendship; and (c) behavioral outcomes such as identity, creativity, and expressions of masculinity and/or femininity. The review performed indicates that lifestyle sport contexts are flexible according to needs and desires that exist among the practitioners and that the human and democratic origins of these contexts make them supportive for positive movement experiences and for positive youth development. The findings have implications for PE teachers, social workers, policymakers, sport organizations, and urban architecture, in that providing lifestyle sport opportunities in the everyday lives of young people will foster a holistic development in a positive way.

• Lindsey, Iain; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Hayton, John W. & O'Gorman, Jimmy (2023). Two decades of youth sport policy research: an augmented scoping review and synthesis. European Sport Management Quarterly. ISSN 1618-4742. p. 1–25. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2023.2233553. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research question: This article addresses the need to develop a comprehensive understanding of research on the formation and content of youth sport policies by presenting a review of studies across the period from 2000 to 2020. The review examined the scale and scope of these studies, collective research findings, and theoretical and methodological approaches utilised. Research methods: Compatible approaches to research synthesis were utilised. Scoping review methods supported searching within 31 relevant journals . Scoping review techniques augmented by those of ‘meta-study’ were used to analyse the 71 articles that were identified through the review. The definition of youth sport policy research through inclusion/exclusion of articles was determined Results and Findings: Youth sport policy research was dominated by studies in Europe and North America. There was also a predominance of qualitative methods, with studies being collectively limited in their utilisation of theory. Forty-four percent of studies examined policies focused on schools, with similar proportions (between 17% and 20%) addressing policies for welfare and safeguarding, community-based participation, and high-performance sport. Youth sport policy goals were often found to overlap and be influenced by other policy agendas, with health being a prominent policy concern. Implications: Besides the need for a wider geographical spread, improved theoretical underpinning and expanding quantitative methods should be priorities for future youth sport policy research. Extending normative analysis and study of democracy and inclusion in youth sport policy-making should also be pursued, especially as young people appear commonly excluded from these processes.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Syversen, Trine Lovold & Nordhagen, Svein Erik (2023). Sport Event Policy. In Girginov, Vassil & Parent, Milena (Ed.), Routledge Sport Studies. Routledge. ISSN 9780367766924. doi: 10.4324/9780367766924-RESS3-1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Sport event policy refers to a) the public policy on hosting sporting events and b) the policies and strategies of sport governing bodies connected to sporting events. Sport event policies represent the formalisation of administrative procedures involving using public funding as annual budgets for sport events. The importance of governmental authorities and their policies play a major role for winning the bid of major sporting events with close relations with local authorities and sport organisations. The phase with the greatest policy focus in events is the bidding process, where the main goal is to win the bid and obtain rights from an event owner for hosting the event. State sport policy goals connected to hosting events are defined in such a way that the hosting of sport events creates benefits and thus serves broader sport-directed goals in the host city, region, and country. The content of the sport event hosting policies is tightly connected to and/or formulated within the state sport policy and to the concept of legacy. Not all countries have dedicated or formal sport event hosting policies. Sport event hosting policy content is often included in elite sport policies and in the elite sport strategies of national sport governing bodies. The event policies and strategies that national and local sport organisations formulate are also concerned with competency building in hosting sport events as well as the recruitment of volunteers and members and to increase sport participation. As policy goals are formulated to be fulfilled, sport events are politically required to deliver policy outcomes. However, the actions of event organisers and sport organisations often do not comply with their goals and the sport event hosting policies that the government has formulated.

• Houlihan, Barrie & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2022). Stakeholding and youth sport in England and Norway. In Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (Ed.), Stakeholder Analysis and Sport Organisations. Routledge. ISSN 9781000511888. p. 87–107. doi: 10.4324/9781003111917-7. Full text in Research Archive
• Skille, Eivind Åsrum & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2022). Stakeholder relationships in the work of anti-doping. In Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (Ed.), Stakeholder Analysis and Sport Organisations. Routledge. ISSN 9781000511888. p. 49–67. doi: 10.4324/9781003111917-5. Full text in Research Archive
• Hanstad, Dag Vidar & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2022). En bærekraftig idrettsorganisasjon: Lang vei fra vedtak til implementering. In Tjønndal, Anne; Lund, Anne Kamilla & Nilssen, Maja (Ed.), Bærekraft i idrett og friluftsliv. Universitetsforlaget. ISSN 9788215061160. p. 121–138. doi: 10.18261/9788215061153-2022-06. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  I dette kapittelet analyserer vi strategiprosessen til Norges Fotballforbund (NFF) innenfor vedtatt satsing på bærekraft. Prosessen, med tydelig preg av bærekraft, startet med en ovenfra-og-ned-tilnærming, men er i løpet av endringsfasen justert slik at det legges til rette for at idrettslagene involveres gjennom kretsleddet. NFF sentralt får da tilbakemeldinger fra dem som politikken er rettet mot, og kan gjøre tiltak for å tilpasse politikken til forskjellige kontekster.

• Adam, Sandy; Grønkjær, Allan B.; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Wohlfart, Olivia (2022). Playing by the rules of academia? The impact of an international research project on the professional identity development of early-career academics in sport management. International Journal of Educational Research Open. 3. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedro.2022.100173. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The purpose of this study is to examine how participating in an international research project (IRP) can impact the way early-career academics (ECAs) perceive academia and thus their professional identity development. Based on neoinstitutional theory, we examine autoethnographic memory stories of six ECAs within sport management who participated in an international research project (IRP). These ECAs experienced an important professional socialization process into the institutional logics of sport management academia. We found that the academics' perception of doing research was influenced by reflection processes of and within the prevailing logics of the organizational field of sport management academia. ECAs benefit from participating in IRPs as they foster the ability to develop career decisions that will benefit them personally and professionally. The paper highlights opportunities of IRPs in contributing to transferable skill development for ECAs and concludes with recommendations for doctoral students and educators.

• Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika; Fahlen, Josef; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skille, Eivind Åsrum (2022). The meaning of democracy in an era of good governance: Views of representation and their implications for board composition. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. ISSN 1012-6902. p. 1–18. doi: 10.1177/10126902221088127. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Contemporary sport governance contexts are marked by a trend towards efficiency-based board composition and an increasing use of instruments aimed to (re)shape boards. Yet, democratic governance is integral to many countries’ sport systems, and research tells us that representation still matters in sport governance. Considering this, the aim with this paper is to provide researchers and practitioners with a vocabulary to understand and address issues of representation in board composition. The paper builds on interviews with nomination committee representatives of 62 Swedish national sport federations (NSFs). The analysis provides insights into the meaning and implications of four distinct views of representation, along with an interpretation of potential responses to board-shaping instruments engendered by these views.

• Stenling, Cecilia; Fahlen, Josef; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skille, Eivind Å. (2021). The gatekeepers of sport governance–nomination committees’ shaping potential in national sport organizations’ board composition processes. European Sport Management Quarterly. ISSN 1618-4742. p. 1–19. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2021.1897640. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  RESEARCH QUESTION The purpose of this paper is to construct knowledge on the working processes of nomination committees (NCs) in sport and analyze their potential to shape board composition. The significance of such an effort lies in its potential to shed light on the processes preceding the structures and practices created for the wielding of power in sport organizations. RESEARCH METHODS This paper reports findings based on telephone interviews with NCs of 64 Swedish national sport organizations. RESULTS AND FINDINGS The analyses show how NC processes may be distinguished into six components: election of the NC at the general assembly (GA), monitoring of the incumbent board, preparation for nominee identification, assembly of a list of potential nominees, evaluation of potential nominees, and submission of proposed nominees to the GA. Within and across these components, the analyses reveal three aspects particularly powerful in their potential to shape board composition: degree of formalization, network reliance, and transparency. IMPLICATIONS These findings have implications for research and practice. Regarding the former, the study provides a baseline description that can be used in future explorations of the NC process and its determinants and effects in varying contexts. As for the latter, the findings suggest that sport organizations carry an untapped potential in considering NCs’ shaping potential, regardless of whether an ‘adequate’ board is one that is equipped to improve organizational efficiency or one that safeguards representation and democracy.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Hanstad, Dag Vidar & Skirstad, Berit (2021). Facilitating Sustainable Outcomes for the Organization of Youth Sports through Youth Engagement. Sustainability. 13(4). doi: 10.3390/su13042101. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The aim of this study was to explore how a youth sport development programme in connection with a major event may facilitate sustainable outcomes for the organization of youth sports in Norway. The context of the study involved the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports’ initiative to increase young people’s engagement within Norwegian organized sports. The result of the initiative was the Young Leaders Programme (YLP) in connection with the 2016 Lillehammer Youth Olympic Games. Young people’s perceptions of the YLP, as well as how these perceptions relate to its implementation, are evaluated to determine the extent to which the programme may make a difference to sustainable youth engagement in organized sports. Qualitative data were generated through interviews with 16 YLP participants, aged 16–20, and five implementing agents. Applying the framework of processes affecting sustainability, the study shows how certain forms of sustainability can be enhanced while constraining other forms at the same time. The findings highlight that project design and implementation play a more crucial role in creating organizational sustainability than in creating individual sustainability. Furthermore, we were able to reveal that the engagement of young people in sport events as volunteers fosters individual sustainability, of which sport organizations and sporting communities should take advantage by providing arenas where young people can re-engage in sport organizations and thus contribute as change agents to a sustainable organization for youth sports.

• Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika; Fahlen, Josef; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skille, Eivind Åsrum (2021). Gate-keeping nonprofit governance: evaluative criteria and their rankings in nomination committee selection processes. In Donnelly-Cox, Gemma; Meyer, Michael & Wijkström, Filip (Ed.), Research Handbook on Nonprofit Governance. Edward Elgar Publishing. ISSN 9781788114905. p. 279–293. doi: 10.4337/9781788114912.00025. Full text in Research Archive
• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Fahlen, Josef; Stenling, Cecilia & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2021). Dørvakter til særforbundsstyrer: Valgkomitérepresentanters syn på seleksjonskriterier og kjønnsbalanse. In Tjønndal, Anne (Eds.), Idrett, kjønn og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245035353. p. 306–322. Full text in Research Archive
• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Fahlen, Josef; Stenling, Cecilia & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2021). (Lack of) government policy for indigenous (Sámi) sport: A chain of legitimating and de-legitimating acts. International Review for the Sociology of Sport. ISSN 1012-6902. doi: 10.1177/1012690220988650. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  While colonization as policy is formally a historic phenomenon in Norway and elsewhere, many former structures of state organization – including their relationship to sport – remain under post-colonial conditions. This paper is concerned with how the Norwegian government contributes to creating a situation, which includes the Norwegian sports confederation (NIF) but excludes the indigenous people Sámi’s sports organisation. Based on existing data and literature, we analyse how the state favours NIF through a chain of legitimating acts. Thus, sport is a preserve of colonization, where a one-sided legitimation parallels a de-legitimation of the overarching sport policy goal of sport-for-all. However, there are signs of change whereby actors are challenging NIF’s monopoly and ‘older’ state-sport regimes.

• Bodemar, Annika; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Fahlen, Josef (2020). Doomed to fail? A study of how junior managers at a major sport event cope with leadership issues. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. ISSN 1475-8962. 20(3-4), p. 271–288. doi: 10.1504/IJSMM.2020.110845. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The organising committee at the 2012 World Snowboarding Championships in Oslo experienced major problems such as uncertainty among the junior managers and general chaos. Despite this, in external communications, the event was declared to be a success. This article draws on the works of Parent and Seguin (2007) and Parent et al. (2009) to examine the key leadership and organisational factors that contributed to these problems. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the junior managers coped with uncertainty and solved problems. This study is based on semi-structured interviews, documents, and participant observations. The findings show that a variety of mechanisms caused uncertainty, including some factors that predicted the event's failure. Although the existing literature is focused on explaining events' success or lack thereof via leadership, this case provides an opportunity to understand how an event can succeed despite the presence of factors that typically lead to failure.

• Wohlfart, Olivia; Adam, Sandy; García-Unanue, Jorge; Hovemann, Gregor; Skirstad, Berit & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2020). Internationalization of the Sport Management Labor Market and Curriculum Perspectives: Insights From Germany, Norway, and Spain. Sport Management Education Journal. ISSN 1938-6974. 14(2), p. 129–141. doi: 10.1123/smej.2019-0046. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study applies “Europeanness” to the analysis of internationalization in the sport management labor market and which changes this trend necessitates for sport management curricula. The authors employed an analysis of 30 semistructured interviews with key informants from Germany, Norway, and Spain. The results reveal various effects of internationalization on the sport sector and highlight the richness and diversity in the three countries. Sport management graduates need to possess a diverse set of competencies for successfully starting their careers. In addition to subject-specific knowledge, generic competencies such as the ability to work in a team, being able to communicate in diverse languages, and having intercultural skills are important. The article discusses knowledge of international sport organizations, their governance, global trends, and intercultural and language competencies, as well as international sport event management as identified themes and proposes specific curriculum changes to promote educational outcomes of sport management programs.

• Stenling, Cecilia; Fahlen, Josef; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skille, Eivind Åsrum (2019). Hierarchies of criteria in NSO board-nomination processes: insights from nomination committees’ work. European Sport Management Quarterly. ISSN 1618-4742. doi: 10.1080/16184742.2019.1672204. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Research question: The purpose of this paper is to create knowledge on board-selection processes and their outcomes in terms of board composition. We address two research questions: (1) What evaluative criteria are at play in board-selection processes; and (2) what hierarchies of criteria are formed when evaluative criteria are ranked? The significance of the study lies in contemporary considerations of good governance, in sport members’ (un)equal access to positions of power, and in how issues of representation relate to the legitimacy of sport governance systems and to broader societal patterns of representation, influence, and democracy. Research methods: Nomination committees are increasingly used worldwide to further good governance in sport organizations. Our analysis builds on interviews with representatives of 61 out of 71 Swedish national sport organizations’ nomination committees. Results and Findings: Our study shows that trade-offs are made not between gender and merit, as previously suggested, but between and among a wide variety of representation criteria and a wide variety of efficiency criteria. We show how tensions between criteria result in trade-offs that imply a ranking of criteria into seven types of hierarchies, only one of which prioritizes a representation-based board composition. Implications: Because rankings of multiple evaluative criteria impact any single criterion of interest (e.g. gender), future studies should take into account the range of evaluative criteria at play. For sport management and policy practitioners alike, we provide a tool to understand and address (in)adequate representation but also an imperative to consider the meaning of adequate representation.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Parent, Milena (2019). Youth Sport Events and Festivals. In MacIntosh, Eric W.; Bravo, Gonzalo A. & Li, Ming (Ed.), International Sport Management. Human Kinetics. ISSN 9781492556787. p. 227–243. Full text in Research Archive
• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Kilvinger, Boris; Bodemar, Annika; Skille, Eivind & Kurscheidt, Markus (2018). Dual governance structures in action sports: institutionalization processes of professional snowboarding revisited. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics. ISSN 1743-0437. p. 1–19. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2018.1440696. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article examines the current governance structures in international competitive snowboarding and analyses empirically how key actors operate within the diverging logics that shape such structures. We expand upon the existing literature on professional snowboarding by offering a more contemporary understanding of the constantly evolving processes of institutionalization. Qualitative data was gathered from the authors’ first-hand experiences with international snowboarding, based on (1) interviews with system insiders, (2) document analysis, and (3) participant observations. Two dominant and contradicting logics of competitive snowboarding were identified, forming a fragmented, dual institutional structure that we call the industry-based and nation-based governance model. Our findings suggest that recent professionalization processes have led to defragmentation efforts, thus signalling a shift towards a nation-based governance focus. Therefore, we conclude that other action sports that will join the Olympics, such as surfing and skateboarding, are advised to find solutions for mediating inherent contradictions of governance logics to avoid institutional fragmentation at an early stage.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Stenling, Cecilia; Fahlen, Josef & Skille, Eivind (2018). Sport policy analysis revisited: the sport policy process as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. ISSN 1940-6940. 10(4), p. 621–635. doi: 10.1080/19406940.2018.1522657. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  By providing an analytical framework that draws on a conceptualisation of legitimacy in organisation studies, this paper demonstrates that the sport policy process can be understood as an interlinked chain of legitimating acts. Based on recent suggestions in organisation theory literature on how to approach legitimacy and legitimation, we applied the framework on a small sample of published sport policy studies to demonstrate its utility. By applying the framework, six interweaved and interweaving elements of the legitimating act within sport policy processes were identified: legitimacy-seeking organisation, subject, source(s), strategy, bases and scenario. The analysis shows that each of the six elements works by intersecting within each phase of the policy process. The main conclusion is that consequences – often unintended – resulting from legitimating acts in one phase have legitimacy-related implications for the other phases of the policy process. As pressing as pinpointing the use of all elements of the framework is, it is equally important to distinguish each of the elements in order to fulfil the analytical potential of the proposed framework. Since sport policy processes in practice rely primarily on organisations and organisational action, future sport policy research would benefit from this type of framework connecting organisations and organising to policy processes.

• Sand, Trond Svela; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Hanstad, Dag Vidar (2017). 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games: Planning for a volunteer legacy. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. ISSN 1475-8962. 17(4-6), p. 242–260. doi: 10.1504/IJSMM.2017.087444. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The aim of this article is to investigate the relation between the legacy planning process of the 2016 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG 2016) and the willingness of event volunteers to continue long-term club volunteering and sports event volunteering after the YOG 2016. The article is based on survey data (n = 930) of young volunteers (≤29 years) and shows that they were reflexive oriented in their motives, however collective motives were important as well. Furthermore, the young volunteers were positive with respect to the general experience as volunteers and to how this had influenced their willingness for future volunteering. The findings are discussed in relation to managerial actions during the YOG 2016, such as performance feedback, training for and communication of task specification - and how lack of such may be a barrier for future volunteering.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2017). For, med og av ungdom? : utdanning av unge ledere. In Hanstad, Dag Vidar & Lesjø, Jon Helge (Ed.), Ungdoms-OL på Lillehammer: Barneskirenn eller olympisk innovasjon?. Akilles forlag. ISSN 9788272862564. p. 205–226. Full text in Research Archive
• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skille, Eivind Åsrum (2017). Boosting youth sport? Implementation of Norwegian youth sport policy through the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games. Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics. ISSN 1743-0437. 20(1), p. 144–160. doi: 10.1080/17430437.2015.1124568. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Neo-institutional concepts of organizational change and organizational reproduction combined with implementation theory are employed to examine the implementation of the Norwegian youth sport policy (YSP) associated with the Youth Olympic Games. The YSP also called ‘youth campaign’, aims at increasing the number of young leaders, young coaches and young athletes. Data were generated from semi-structured interviews and observations and show that implementation is characterized by revitalization of existing practices within the Norwegian sports system through translation and bricolage and innovative entrepreneurship. Our data indicate that the focus of the implementation was on the recruitment and education of young leaders. The development of young coaches and the recruitment and retention of young athletes are neglected. The non-involvement of national sport federations and sports clubs as well as the complexity of administrative layers are causes for the lack of effective implementation. In sum, a lasting impact on the Norwegian youth sport development is doubtful.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2017). A neo-institutionalist analysis of sport event leveraging strategies and tactics. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. ISSN 1475-8962. 17(4/5/6), p. 261–282. doi: 10.1504/IJSMM.2017.087442. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study provides a conceptual framework for understanding how leveraging tactics are developed by implementing agents and organisations responsible for a certain outcome for sport events. The framework, built on neo-institutional theory and implementation literature, was applied by examining youth sport policy (YSP) implementation and outcomes by leveraging the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games with the formulated objective to increase the engagement of young people in Norwegian organised sport. Planning and perceptions of the leveraging process were explored through 33 semi-structured interviews with policy formulators, implementing agents, and the policy target group. Technical details of implementation proved to be more time-consuming and difficult than the Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) and its partner organisations assumed. While the successful staging of the event itself was given priority, none of the stakeholder organisations involved in the YSP implementation prioritised its leverage. Opportunities for innovation on the street-level by the policy network were missed resulting in the reproduction of existing practices within the Norwegian sports structure.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skirstad, Berit (2017). Managing football organizations: a man’s world? Comparing women in decision-making positions in Germany and Norway and their international influence: a contextual approach. Soccer and Society. ISSN 1466-0970. 18(1), p. 81–101. doi: 10.1080/14660970.2014.980733. Full text in Research Archive
• Lesjø, Jon Helge; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Hanstad, Dag Vidar (2017). Patterns of influence: relationship with the IOC as seen by the organisers of the Youth Olympic Winter Games 2016. International Journal of Sport Management and Marketing. ISSN 1475-8962. 17(4-6), p. 331–350. doi: 10.1504/IJSMM.2017.087443. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) resembles the Olympic Games in many ways but it has its own identity and characteristics. In this article, we analyse patterns of influence between the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and local organisers prior to the YOG 2016. The findings show that these patterns vary over time and between different areas of governance and management. The IOC in general follows event organisers rather losely through detailed manuals, routines of communications, and reports. According to local organisers, this model of governance fits big events such as the Olympics better than smaller events such as YOG. Through time and processes characterised by 'negotiated trust' however, local organisers gained more autonomy. This case shows that hosts can gain power through the control and trust mechanism and realise local projects.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2016). Defining a problem to fit the solution: A neo-institutional explanation for legitimising the bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics. ISSN 1940-6940. 8(3), p. 421–437. doi: 10.1080/19406940.2016.1138990. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article discusses the successful bid for the 2016 Lillehammer winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) and its incorporation within the broader youth sport strategy within organised sport in Norway. Although it is widely accepted that the argument that major sports events are a solution to problems of low levels of involvement in sport is not generally supported by evidence Norwegian sport organisations used this argument as a primary justification for hosting the YOG. The aim of the research is to investigate: a) why NIF used this argument even though there was so little evidence to support its validity; and b) how and why this seemingly contradictory argument was successfully ‘sold’ to the public. The research was guided by the methodological approach of discourse analysis and the theoretical framework of the neo-institutionalist concept of legitimacy. Based on this analysis I show how the institutionalised rhetoric of the Norwegian youth sport policy (YSP) adopted by the Norwegian Olympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF) became the main argument for the YOG bid. Further findings show that rather than responding to the youth sport participation problem, NIF used the development of youth sport as a convenient rationale to bid for the YOG in order to secure legitimacy from two of its main stakeholders – the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Norwegian government. Rather than hosting the YOG as solution to a youth sport participation problem, NIF used the institutionalised rhetoric of the YSP, defining a problem to fit the solution.

• Kristiansen, Elsa; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Skirstad, Berit (2016). Stakeholders, challenges and issues at a co-hosted youth olympic event: Lessons learned from the European Youth Olympic festival in 2015. International Journal of the History of Sport. ISSN 0952-3367. 33(10), p. 1152–1168. doi: 10.1080/09523367.2016.1238822. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The 12th European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) was arranged in Austria and Liechtenstein in January 2015. By using a stakeholder framework, the study aims to: (a) identify and differentiate between primary and secondary stakeholders based on their level of influence in planning, implementation and impact of the event; and (b) analyze the challenges and issues caused by the co-hosting. Qualitative data stemming from interviews, observations and document analysis indicate that EYOF is a less formalized event with a scaled down budget. The local stakeholders turned out to have most to gain and were willing to pay for such an event. Therefore, the Organizing Committee involved local sponsors, companies and communities, who became core or primary stakeholders, whereas the usual IOC core stakeholders played a reduced role. Major challenges in co-hosting were the coordination and administration of a border, two currencies, transportation and accommodation. EYOF as an international event might not have international influence, but it may have a sustainable impact on the communities due to the co-host. This implies that cohosting is a good model for future Olympic hosts if one wants to attract smaller countries, and have the benefits of cost-reduction, strengthening the community and cross-border relations.

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• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (2022). Stakeholder Analysis and Sport Organisations. Routledge. ISBN 9781000511888. 287 p. Full text in Research Archive

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• Strömberg, Julius Zackarias; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria & Fahlen, Josef (2025). Volunteering is (not) dead? The promises and pitfalls of professionalization within the governance of the voluntary sport club. SVEBI 2025. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper focuses on the two central meaning systems existing and affecting the practices and structures within modern grassroots sport, namely voluntarism and professionalism – and how they, despite differences, coexist and conjoins within sport club organization. This theme is one of the most enduring within the scholarly discourse in sport management, and we aim to discuss and showcase how the logics’ interdependence continues to shape grassroots sport and how they remain the key processes that shape how sport clubs are being lead, organized and practiced. The aim is to understand how professionalization processes impact voluntary ideals and practices in the governance of voluntary sports.

• Strömberg, Julius Zackarias; Horbel, Chris & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2024). Die Entwicklung von Good Governance im Sport. In Behrens, Anton; Bauers, Sebastian Björn & Hovemann, Gregor (Ed.), Entwicklungstendenzen im Sportmanagement: Struktur- und Wertewandel, Nachhaltigkeit, Globalisierung und Digitalisierung. Springer Gabler. ISSN 9783658427986. p. 109–127. doi: 10.1007/978-3-658-42798-6_6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Ein Fokus auf Good Governance in Sportorganisationen wird zunehmend als Notwendigkeit wahrgenommen, nicht zuletzt als Reaktion auf zahlreiche große Skandale und Krisen in den führenden internationalen Sportorganisationen, zum Beispiel der FIFA und dem IOC. Obwohl viele andere Sportorganisationen nicht die gleiche Aufmerksamkeit in den internationalen Medien erhalten, stehen sie auf allen Ebenen, bis hin zu Breitensportvereinen, vor ähnlichen Problemen und Krisen, von denen viele auf schlechte Governance-Strukturen, -Prozesse und -Praktiken zurückzuführen sind. Dieses Kapitel gibt einen Überblick über die Entwicklung von Good Governance im Sport. Die Entwicklung von Prinzipien und Kodizes für Good Governance basiert auf verschiedenen theoretischen Grundlagen und verbindet vielfältige Perspektiven, darunter Corporate Governance, politische Governance sowie organisatorische und systemische Governance. Zudem gilt es Indikatoren zur Bewertung und Überwachung der Einhaltung von Goo Governance in Sportorganisationen herauszuarbeiten. Obwohl bisherige Bemühungen noch nicht zu einer standardisierten und einhelligen Auffassung von Good-Governance-Prinzipien für Sportorganisationen geführt haben, besteht Einigkeit darüber, dass Transparenz, Rechenschaftspflicht und Demokratie der Schlüssel für einen Wandel hin zu guter Governance sind. Da die gesellschaftliche Verantwortung zunehmend als Pflicht für Sportorganisationen angesehen wird, muss auch diese in Zukunft an die Good-Governance-Strukturen von Sportorganisationen auf allen Ebenen integriert und umgesetzt werden.

• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Strömberg, Julius Zackarias & Horbel, Chris (2024). Etisk ledelse som praksis i norske idrettslag. In Næss, Hans Erik (Eds.), Idrettsledelse i praksis. Cappelen Damm Akademisk. ISSN 9788202820794. Full text in Research Archive
• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (2022). Introduction. In Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Houlihan, Barrie (Ed.), Stakeholder Analysis and Sport Organisations. Routledge. ISSN 9781000511888. Full text in Research Archive
• Valiyeva, Dilara; Hermanrud, Inge & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2022). Olympic Legacy Shaping Processes In Light Of Social Sustainability And Inclusion Of Marginalized Groups – Cases Of Vancouver 2010, Sydney 2000 and Lillehammer 1994. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Aim, research questions: In sport management literature, social legacy and social inclusion as the impact of mega sports events are often disconnected and contested terms among academics and practitioners and encompass a range of interpretations. In this regard, scholars have underlined the importance of the context. In order to widen our understanding of how social inclusion and legacy from sports events are connected, this study aims to analyse how social sustainability and inclusion of marginalised groups are constructed in the legacy-shaping process of past Olympic events: Lillehammer 1994, Sydney 2000 and Vancouver 2010. As there are many possible areas of inclusion, the following will be prioritised: socioeconomic status, culture, geography, gender, sexual orientation, age, physical and mental health/ability, and status regarding unemployment, homelessness and incarceration.

• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Fahlen, Josef; Stenling, Maria Cecilia Erika & Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2021). Dørvakter til særforbundsstyrer: valgkomitérepresentanters syn på selektionskriterier og kjønnsbalanse. In Tjønndal, Anne (Eds.), Idrett, kjønn og ledelse. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245035353. p. 306–322. Full text in Research Archive
• Skille, Eivind Åsrum; Strittmatter, Anna-Maria; Fahlen, Josef & Stenling, Cecilia (2019). Government policy for indigenous (Sámi) sport – a chain of legitimating acts? Full text in Research Archive
• Strittmatter, Anna-Maria (2017). Legitimation processes of sport organizations: the case of Norwegian youth sport policy and the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games. Norges idrettshøgskole. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Article II: Strittmatter, A.-M. and Skille, E. Å. (2016). Boosting youth sport Implementation of Norwegian youth sport policy through the 2016 Lillehammer Winter Youth Olympic Games. Sport in Society, 1–17. doi:10.1080/17430437.2015.1124568

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