Analysing the context-specific relevance of competencies – sport management alumni perspectives

Research question Recent studies on occupational fields show that different competencies are considered important in different work environments. However, with regard to sport management, there is a lack of knowledge about how context matters in terms of required competencies. This study examines how specific patterns of competencies are associated with sport management alumni’s occupational context.Research methods 142 alumni of a bachelor and master programme in sport management who already have entered professional life participated in an online survey which comprised questions on the relevance of skills/abilities related to four competency dimensions and on the occupational context. Probit models were employed to analyse the association of context factors and the job-related relevance of competencies.Results and findings Results suggest that ‘context’ plays a role in the sport managers’ assessment of the relevance of most competencies. For example, working in a private not-for-profit organisation is associated with rating ‘load capacity’, ‘negotiating skills’, and ‘assertiveness’ as relevant competencies, but ‘use of scientific methods’ and ‘scientific writing’ are considered less relevant. Furthermore, the work tasks ‘budgeting’ ‘coaching’, and ‘data analysis’ are associated with the most specific patterns of competency.Implications Organisation and communication skills contribute to general employability of graduates. Beyond that, and due to occupation-specific competency requirements, contextual frameworks of employment and the characteristics of work-related situations need to be considered, for example in teaching-learning processes.