Participation and change: the case of the Polisportiva Giovanni Masi

Sport organizations in Italy have been seldom investigated in a systematic way and effects of the specific configuration of the Italian sport system on the organization and the structure of sports clubs have been only partially analyzed (see Madella, 2010). The main objective of the research is to investigate trends and dynamics affecting one the most interesting Italian clubs, the <<Polisportiva Giovanni Masi,>> with a special focus on the quality of the services provided, the main features of the general structure and the organizational processes, the interaction with public and private stakeholders, the level of satisfaction of the members and the effects of changes occurring within the Italian sport system. The club is based in Casalecchio di Reno, a municipality of 38000 inhabitants nearby Bologna: it has more than 7.000 members enrolled, and a large array of services provided and activities implemented, resulting as one of the leadin g organization for the local community. The research, ideographic in nature, has been carried out within the case-study approach. Particularly, in-depth interviews (n=11), questionnaires with members (n=1100), focus groups (n=9), life histories (n=4) and participant observation have been interpolated. Results of the study show that Polisportiva Masi is recognized as a high quality organization both in terms of services provided for the member and in terms of organizational processes. However, there are evidences to maintain that a traditional model of organization - with scarce level of professionalization, low level of specialization and short-term strategy - shows a clear incongruence with the modern Italian sport system.