Leadership as Critical Success Factor of Total Quality and Human Resource Management in Sports Organizations

Abstract

This study presents a model inspired by the Burke-Litwin causal model of the organization, suitable to encompass both individual and organizational performance and aligned with the proposal of a structure explicitly adapted for sports organizations from De Knop. The model was tested on senior management in 131 tennis clubs registered in Serbia. Although some scholars are against the implementation of common management in sports organizations, the results show that well-structured total quality and human resource management processes genuinely increase the effectiveness of sports organizations. Our findings show that critical success factors of this approach were complexity-based leadership, clearly defined mission and vision of the organizations, informal communication paired with unambiguous policies and comprehensible procedures, and broader operational responsibilities given to the employees. The levels of legal compliance and reward management systems were the main weaknesses of these sports organizations.