An Organizational Development Model for Mestis Hockey League
Tuomainen, Marko (2017)
Tuomainen, Marko
Haaga-Helia ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201704305829
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-201704305829
Tiivistelmä
Sport leagues and organizations are unique in many respects because they operate both as businesses and as sport operators. This poses various challenges to how a sport organization can be develop, what is the focus of the development, who can decide on the change or development and who implements it.
The purpose of this study was to examine the current situation of second highest competitive hockey league in Finland, the Mestis Hockey League, and its organizations and discover how key stakeholder groups such as Mestis organization chairs, players, personnel and fans see Mestis in its current form and how they would like to see Mestis develop. The study was approached from both a personal perspective and data acquired through semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders from various Mestis organizations (N=10).
The results indicate that many of the participants had concerns about the current position of Mestis, particularly the financial situation of the league and its organizations. The main development points for the Mestis Hockey League were considered increasing the value, appreciation and status of Mestis. In addition, the possibility of promotion from Mestis to Liiga was seen by the participants as a crucial part of the development of Mestis, and that promotion should be based on both sporting success and meeting financial conditions. The participants also envisioned more effective and fluent cooperation between the Mestis and Liiga leagues in terms of player transfers, the overall league systems and the marketing of both leagues.
The results of this study imply that the Mestis Hockey League must take action to increase the visibility, status and appreciations of Mestis, and to improve the financial situation of the league and its organizations. This can be achieved through improved cooperation with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Liiga and Mestis, and with more focus placed on detailed and efficient sport marketing, management and development efforts.
The purpose of this study was to examine the current situation of second highest competitive hockey league in Finland, the Mestis Hockey League, and its organizations and discover how key stakeholder groups such as Mestis organization chairs, players, personnel and fans see Mestis in its current form and how they would like to see Mestis develop. The study was approached from both a personal perspective and data acquired through semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders from various Mestis organizations (N=10).
The results indicate that many of the participants had concerns about the current position of Mestis, particularly the financial situation of the league and its organizations. The main development points for the Mestis Hockey League were considered increasing the value, appreciation and status of Mestis. In addition, the possibility of promotion from Mestis to Liiga was seen by the participants as a crucial part of the development of Mestis, and that promotion should be based on both sporting success and meeting financial conditions. The participants also envisioned more effective and fluent cooperation between the Mestis and Liiga leagues in terms of player transfers, the overall league systems and the marketing of both leagues.
The results of this study imply that the Mestis Hockey League must take action to increase the visibility, status and appreciations of Mestis, and to improve the financial situation of the league and its organizations. This can be achieved through improved cooperation with the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, Liiga and Mestis, and with more focus placed on detailed and efficient sport marketing, management and development efforts.