0000000000728838
AUTHOR
Kalevi Olin
Use of Social Reference Groups in Sport Policy Making
Based on reference group theory the purpose of the present study was to determine how sport political decision-makers acted while making decisions, and which reference groups and backgrounds they selected for supporting their behavior. Furthermore, the aim was to find out how the reference group strategy of decision-makers had changed since the middle of the 1970's (Olin, 1982). A sample of 1788 officials and appointed representatives from 167 cities in Finland were selected for the study. The results indicated that the reference groups and backgrounds the majority of the decision-makers chose as bases for their decision behavior in order of descending importance were: the city officials p…
Attitudes Toward Professional Foreign Players in Finnish Amateur Basketball
The use of foreign professional players may influence the host country's sport culture. To determine the attitudes toward foreign professionals in various Finnish amateur basketball leagues, all clubs (n = 55) playing basketball in the three highest Finnish leagues were interviewed by mailed questionnaire. The results indicated that recruitment of foreign pros was held to effect negatively the team spirit and the play tactics, the economics of the club, the development of other sport branches in the club and the success of the national team. Positive effects were expected on the number of spectators, public relations of the club and the success of its team. For lower leagues foreign profes…