Softball Australia: A Strategic Case Study Analysis and Report

This case study examines Softball Australia's strategic position, organizational structure, and competitive environment. It begins with an overview of the organization, its current strategy focusing on stakeholder engagement, facility development, participation increase, and sustainability. The report includes a SWOT analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, followed by an industry and competitive analysis using Porter's five forces model. The analysis considers industry rivalry, customer bargaining power, supplier bargaining power, the threat of substitutes, and new entrants. The study benchmarks against other leagues and assesses market position, highlighting challenges like competition from other sports and the need for equal opportunities for both men and women. The document concludes by discussing implications of the internal and external analysis and provides an overview of the competitive landscape of the softball industry.

Case Study in Sport Management

Table of Contents
Part 1 - Situational Analysis............................................................................................................3
Part 2 - Concept and Feasibility.......................................................................................................3
Market Position of Rivals............................................................................................................3
Key Success Factors....................................................................................................................4
League Concept...........................................................................................................................6
Organization and Governance of Sports Leagues...................................................................6
Delivery of the Core Product.......................................................................................................7
Competition be formatted for strategic advantage...................................................................8
Team ownership structure........................................................................................................8
Home and away season vs event structure..............................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

Part 1 - Situational Analysis
Introduction
For the success of any business, it is necessary to evaluate the environmental factors. Evaluating
the factors internal and external to the organization has a strong impact on the strategic processes
and plan and can be a key determinant in the success of an organization. Once the leaders are
able to identify the possible threats and opportunities present in the environment, the activities
can be focused in the direction of achievement of strategic goals (Arthur, 2017).
In this respect, the following report focuses on discussing the current strategic position of the
company Softball Australia. A brief overview of the company has been provided at the
beginning of the report along with its organizational structure, culture and leadership values. The
report also includes a SWOT analysis and Porter's five force analysis to evaluate the internal and
external factors present in the market.
Overview of the Organization: Softball Australia
Softball Australia is responsible for governing the softball sports in Australia. It is the governing
body that comprises of eight member states which include both territories and states, clubs,
associations, and all the individual members who are associated with the softball sports (Softball
Australia, 2017). These individual members are those who are involved in coaching, playing,
officiating or support the game in Australia.
The sport was initially introduced in the year 1939 in NSW when Gordon Young, the NSW’s
Director of Physical Education, started promoting the game. However, it was introduced as an
organized game in the year 1942 for the recreational purpose for the US nurses that were
stationed in Melbourne (Nauright, 2012).

Current Strategy of the Company
The current strategy of the organization is focused to achieve its strategic goals by the end of
2020. The strategy of the organization is developed in five key areas which are discussed below:
 Developing and implementing a strategy that can be listened, communicated and has the
capability to engage all the stakeholders and members- for this the organization is
adopting alternatives that are concerned with the development of a website which is user-
friendly and has a social media footprint. The organization has planned to visit almost
every region in a calendar year and develop a system for effective communication and
engagement of members.
 Developing a network of well managed and maintained facilities across the state- the
organization is planning to devise a database that has information about all the facilities
of places where the softball games have been held. It is also planning to design an asset
management plan that would help in determining the true costs.
 Increase in the participation and development- the organization would be doing this by
increasing its members to 5,000, the percentage of junior members to 30%, and coaches
by 100% (Softball Western Australia, 2016). The alternatives adopted by the organization
would be offering increased activities during calendar events and encouraging the
associations to capitalize on the programs in schools, and programs like social 7’s and
batter up.
 Ensuring the sustainability of the softball by increasing the capacity and developing new
partnerships across states.

Organizational Structure, Culture and Leadership
The organization follows a functional organizational structure where each portion of the
association is grouped as per the purpose. The organization relies on the talent and capabilities of
its employees. There are two levels at the top management, the senior most level is comprised of
the organisation’s board of directors who are responsible for the strategy formulation and
implementation. The next level consists of the organisation’s Chief Executing Officer (CEO).
The next level is the middle management level which consists of different managers
responsible for their departments. These managers are appointed for marketing function, sports
development, my softball community, office, and handling events (Softball Australia, 2015). The
lower level of management is comprised of various coordinators working in the departments,
coaches, selectors, and various staff members (See Appendix 1).
Softball Australia fosters a corporate culture of inclusivity where the focus is to make the sports
popular among different communities. The organization ensures that the sport is culturally
diverse, that is, people from different cultural backgrounds, gender, age groups, and abilities are
involved in this sport, either in the form of playing, coaching, mentoring, administrating or
promoting the sports.
The leaders of the organization are the board of directors and CEO of the company who is
responsible for determining and achieving the strategic goals for the organization. The current
panel of the board of directors includes John Hollingsworth (also the chairman), Dennis Cullen,
Annette Fidge, Helen Langenberg, Christine Heron, Peter Jon Hartshorne, Ron Gauci, and Fiona
Crawford. The board of directors lead the organization and ensure that the sport is well managed
and promoted across different states and at the time ensuring its sustainability (Softball Australia,
20171).

Internal Analysis: SWOT
The SWOT analysis is a tool used by the organisations to evaluate the internal environment. It
stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (Sarsby, 2016). A SWOT analysis
for the organization, Softball Australia has been presented in the following table.
Strengths
 Knowledgeable and expert national
coaches
 High performances
 Popularity of programs among people,
such as community coaching program
and softball batter up
 Engagement of all stakeholders (Softball
Australia, 2012)
Weaknesses
 High costs on participants
 Ageing state facility
Opportunities
 Reintroduction in the Olympics for
boosting the profile of the sport
 Uniting softball state-wide to allow
wider communities to afford the game
 Capacity for facility building in terms of
coaches and administrators
 Development of strong financial base
that can be used to invest in the sports in
Threats
 Probability of reduction in the financial
support provided by the government
 Preference given to other sports for
recreational purpose
 Servicing only regional affiliates
(Softball Western Australia, 2016)

future (Softball Australia, 2012)
Analysis of the Strategic Direction
On the analysis of the strategic plan of the organization, it is apparent that the organization is
taking initiatives to further develop its scope in the states and ensuring its sustainability in the
future. Most of its strategies developed for 2020 are focused on increasing its capacity, in terms
of members, facilities, coaches, officials, and talent (Softball Western Australia, 2016).
The emphasis of the organization is to develop a uniform strategy that can engage its
stakeholders and members present across different states and promote the sports. The focus of
these strategies lies in facilitating better communication among partners, increasing the facilities,
better participation and development, development of talent and ensuring sustainability of
softball.
Industry and Competitive Analysis
For analyzing the external environment Porter's five force model is used which measures the
industry's attractiveness on the basis of five factors. These factors include the threat of
substitutes, the threat of new entrants, industrial rivalry, bargaining power of buyers and
bargaining power of suppliers (Porter, 2008).
 Industry Rivalry- as per Porter’s model, the main forces that determine the level of
industrial rivalry are market maturity, high fixed costs, and competitors. The game was
first played in the year 1939 and since then it has gained significant popularity (Softball
Australia, 2017). However, in the current context, the other sports are gaining popularity,
placing the softball game at a maturity stage (Softball Western Australia, 2016). The

costs incurred on the members and participants are also high making the industry
moderately attractive.
 Bargaining power of customers- the customers of the organization can be categorized into
three, namely media outlets, fans, and corporations. Majority of the revenue comes from
the fans who watch the games and league matches by buying tickets. The media outlets
are responsible for bidding rights to broadcast the games and the corporations are
involved with providing the sponsorships for different league teams. Considering all the
customer groups, it is apparent that the power with the customers is high.
 Bargaining power of suppliers- the power of the players is determined on the factors like
the interest of other teams in the player, player's performance, star power and free agent
status. However, for the industry, the power of the suppliers is low except few
exceptional players.
 The threat of substitutes- it is observed that the substitute products, that is, the other
games played have a strong impact on the softball industry. Most of the fans are
associated with softball due to the recreational purpose and are not die-hard fans, which
signifies that they can easily switch to other sports they find interesting and entertaining.
Moreover, with the introduction of new games, the threat of substitutes in this industry is
very high.
 The threat of new entrants- even though, the organization is working for many years and
has attained a league status, there are still possibilities for new entrants in the industry.
However, it would be difficult for the new entrants to survive in the market due to high
capital costs, brand reputation, and stiff competition from Softball Australia.

Implications of the Internal and External Analysis
It is observed that the national team is less preferred than the male-dominated sports played in
Australia. It is apparent from the fact that the national team could not secure the same funding as
that of male-dominated sports even after performing better in the international competitions
(Stell, 1991). The major challenge faced by the industry is to provide equal opportunities for
both men and women while playing softball.
In the year 2005, the registered number of participants were recorded as 38,347 out of which
25,586 members were women. The encouragement by the state and federal governments and a
vision of providing equal opportunities to all the talented players, professional sport of women is
gaining importance. The impact of this is observed on the female athletes as they have a better
opportunity to receive scholarships from Australian Institute of Sports (Commonwealth of
Australia, 2006).

Part 2 - Concept and Feasibility
Benchmarking Against Other Leagues
The benchmarking is related to establishment of the standards in the market place. The
benchmarking against the other leagues can be established by making strong position in the
market, become the league with the highest profit potential as well as defeating the other teams
in the sports. The analysis of the threats for the future success of the leagues can help in
maintaining the standards (Anderson, 2011). By winning the team oriented competitions, the
benchmarking can be established against the other leagues as it will lead to achievements. The
benchmarking provides with the profitability in terms of the achievement in the sports as well as
in the financial performance (ISA, 2017). The enhanced performance of the league in context to
the sports helps in establishing higher reputation in comparison to the other leagues. The set
standards will influence the people as well (Nourayi, 2006). The other leagues will also try to
match the stands in order to achieve the success. For this purpose, it is essential for the league to
maintain the benchmark.
Market Position of Rivals
The Softball Australia league faces severe competition from various sports league present in the
market. A few of them are National Basketball League, Australian Ice Hockey League etc. The
topmost position is acquired by the Basketball League of Australia. It was founded in 1979 and
at present 8 teams contest for it out of which seven teams are from Australia and one is from
New Zealand. There has been a considerable support of the NBL players to establish the league
in Asian countries in the near future. In May 2016, the League began to set up their plans for

establishing a team in China. This expansion plan is still into consideration. The players at NBL
being at the top most positions receive a remuneration upto A$ 1,000,000 (National Basketball
League, 2017) .
The Ice Hockey League of Australia is a popular league among other leagues of Ice hockey but
the position of Ice Hockey league in Australia is restricted at its place and still needs to attain
higher position. The players of AIHL are not paid for playing ice hockey but are given additional
benefits like using the car, getting accommodation by the government. The potential plans of
expansion of AIHL are towards Queensland by 2018 and Tasmania by 2020 (Ice Hockey
Australia, 2017).
Key Success Factors
 A sound organizational structure is required for developing a successful league. Such
an organizational structure has a defined hierarchy and clearly defined organizational
structure and positions. The employees have a clear sense of responsibility and
competence and they fulfill them in the correct order and manner.
 Defined goal settings - Softball Australia has a defined Hierarchic goal system. It
possesses a proper vision of the goals of the league and work in the direction of their
achievement. Various departments of the league have their set department goals and
each department works in the direction to fulfill them. For example - the under 19
softball league deals with the proper training and development of the under 19 team
whereas the women's team has its own defined functions (schilaneck, 2005).
 Financing and controlling - Financing is handled by the cash flows and the
contributions of the proprietor groups. Sponsoring of the acquisitions and inputs in the

ticketing sales add to the finances of the league. The controlling system and processes
are highly qualitative and narrow and comply with the goal settings. A controller is
held in charge of all the financial transactions including sales and ticketing. Daily
reports are handed over to the supervisors (Howard & Crompton, 2002).
 Exterior communication system - A fully implemented Exterior communication
systems are followed by the professional leagues which lead to their success. A
properly implemented Customer identity conception including corporate
communication and philosophy, corporate designing and behavior are maintained
(Mueller & Lashbrook, 2017).
 A worldwide PR strategy helps these leagues to reach heights of success. An efficient
Image controlling, defined media contacts and management of relationships between
media and the league are the factors contributing to the success (ToniBrucea &
TahliaTinib, 2008).
 Good Customer relations include a well maintained customer service and event
management. An updated customer service database helps maintaining good relations
and recognition among the customers.
 The management of the league events is maintained on a huge scale. It involves a
tremendous pool of the event management companies to organize the large scale sports
events. The media coverage makes it too large and creates a fuss in the market months
before the leagues start.
 Human resource management is another powerful aspect of such successful
professional leagues worldwide. The employees are attracted with a wide variety of
materialistic and immaterialist incentives and rewards for them. The players get huge

incentives apart from their fixed pays. These materialistic bonuses increase the efficient
and the team spirit of the players and motivate them (Sports and HR, Talent |, 2017).
 The professional leagues follow an efficient method of leadership based on the
communicative pattern. Department meetings are held on a regular basis and club
meetings on a monthly basis.
League Concept
Sports leagues is the group of Sports team which compete against each other in a particular sport.
The leagues may be for the amateurs who platy the sport for entertainment or the professionals
which form a complex form of the league events. The players playing in the professional leagues
get a huge sum of money and are hundreds in numbers. The professional leagues like AIHL,
Softball Australia, and NBL Australia are very popular leagues. Their seasons end for several
months and the media coverage is so humongous that it makes the league events quite popular
all, over the world (Lentze, 1995).
Organization and Governance of Sports Leagues
There are several methods for the organization of the sports leagues. The teams competing in
Sports leagues come from different cities or sometimes even the players of different countries are
a part of it. Settlement of the rules of the league, selection of the umpires, the marketing
strategies is al, the responsibilities of the organizers. The other challenges include collection of
the sufficient revenues to make the league events run into profits (Noll, 2003).
To maintain the efficiency in such events financing and controlling systems should be the
perfect. Financing must be handled by the cash flows and the contributions of the proprietor

groups. Sponsorship of the acquisitions and inputs of the ticketing sales contribute to the
finances of the league.
The governing process of leagues comes under the Government of the country under its sports
department. The Sports departments fund the league events along with the financial support of
the rich businessmen or the celebrities. These top profile people contribute by purchasing the
teams and the players by auction. This gives money to the players and the event organization
teams. The rules and regulations regarding the conflicts are designed by the Sports Departments
of the respective countries (Rodriguez et al., 2007).
The controlling system and its processes must qualitative and comply with the goal settings of
the organizations organizing such events. A controller must be held in charge of all the financial
services and transactions including ticketing and sales. Daily reports must be prepared and
handed over to supervisors on a regular basis.
Delivery of the Core Product
The delivery of the product depends majorly on the level of the competition among the teams
and on the business competition. The delivery of the product depends on the outcomes of the
sports which eventually affects the consumers. The consumers identify their favorite teams. The
winning team is more likely to become identifiable and the favorite of the consumers. Initially,
league product was developed particularly for the fans that used to attend the games. But today
there are various sources of the revenue that are available for the professional sports leagues and
the core league product remains while at the same time, the different products are produced by
league (Mason, 1999). In order to deliver the core product, the league is required to influence
and attract the consumers and make its place in the market. It is essential for the league to use the

marketing strategy in order to take the advantage of the potential markets. The one of the
difficult task for the leagues is to sell the sports product to the consumers as the consumers are
keener towards the sports products that are entertaining for them. The revenue is generated by
the selling of the tickets of the league to the fans of the game and this is not provided with the
importance by the leagues (Mason, 1999).
Competition be formatted for strategic advantage
The one of the valuable tools for the purpose of understanding the strengths, weaknesses,
differences and the similarities of the market position of the rival companies is strategic group
mapping. The close competitors are mainly in the nearby or same strategic group. The companies
or the leagues which are in the distant strategic groups provides with minor or no threat
(Umn.edu, 2017). The various strategic groups’ profit potential differs mainly because of the
strengths and weaknesses in each of the market group position. The rivals who have higher profit
potential are strongly positioned in the market and the rivals. The competitive pressure of the
industry and the drivers of change majorly favor only some of the strategic groups and are
unfavorable for the other strategic groups (Linton, 2017).
Team ownership structure
In the history of the sports league, only one type of ownership structure used to exist but in
today’s time, there are many types of ownership structure that exists in the sports leagues. For
the success of the business and the league, it is essential to create a relatively passionate
environment between the supporters of the league and should have the ability to convert a club
into brand as well as should have the potential to generate the revenues. Above all, the
foundation is the most important by which clubs are developed. The some of the leagues are able
to achieve the success with the ownership of the fans (Savino, 2011). This strategy brings

success but it also brings criticism of the supports with the public disclosure. The increase in the
share provides the supporters with displeasure. The supporter ownership is successful for the
some of the leagues and club (Rosner & Shropshire, 2004).
The one ownership model adopted by the league helps in operating the successful business. The
one of the type of ownership structure includes the ownership of the clubs as well as operated by
league. The clubs are organized independently. The owners as well as the ownership groups are
the shareholders of the league. The ownership structure in which the league is owned by the
owner group is operated by the owner group itself. (Savino, 2011).
Home and away season vs event structure
The events provide the sports benefits to the participants as well as provide the benefits related to
the social, educational and cultural. The events are helpful in the promotion and the development
of the sport. In Australia, the day carnival is hosted by Australia for the purpose to provide the
opportunities to the young players of Australia as well as to attract the junior player towards the
softball through the tournament (Softball Australia, 2017).
The Waverly Easter carnival is conducted by the Waverly Softball Association for the purpose to
attract the junior age player during the holidays of Easter annually. This provides the
opportunities through the tournament to the teams and develops the young players for future
(Littleleague, 2017).
The master events of national as well as international level are hosted for the purpose to offer the
physical activity in a festival and social environment. The softball has become the one of the
sports in which people take the highest participation in master games (Softball Australia, 2017).
The university events are hosted by the Australian University Sport. The various types of events
are hosted by AUS. The participants should be enrolled in an educational institution for the

diploma, degree or certificate course. The events of AUS offers friendly as well as competitive
environment. The social program is also conducted during the event for the purpose to improve
the experience of the participants (Softball Australia, 2017).
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