The value of local sporting clubs’ websites

Local sporting clubs make a major contribution by encouraging sport participation. Whilst digital technologies assist clubs to achieve their objectives, many face challenges with their implementation due to limited resources. This paper extends the Valuable, Rare, Imitability and Organisation (VRIO) framework in resource-based theory to examine the value that clubs gain from websites. Interviews were conducted with clubs with limited resources across two sports in two countries. Clubs that adopted advanced Internet features (implementing online transactions, including e-commerce and/or automated sporting results), despite limited resources, have achieved more value from their websites when compared with clubs without these features.