Oliver (1990) proposed a conceptual framework for the contingencies that determine the formation of IORs in the sport industry. Oliver referred to contingencies as “the causes that prompt or motivate organisations to establish IORs” (p. 242). Drawing upon Oliver’s framework, the interview findings illustrated that the formation of a partnership within the context of sport cooperative education aligned well with the contingencies of reciprocity, legitimacy and efficiency.
Reciprocity is based on a perspective that partnerships are formed for the purpose of pursuing mutually beneficial goals or interests. Motives of reciprocity require mutual support, cooperation and collaboration rather than being based on domination, power and control (Babiak, 2007; Oliver, 1990). This contingency is consistent with the basis of a stakeholder-integrated approach to cooperative education and was evident in these academic and industry supervisor views:
It’s a partnership where everyone works together for a common goal, although we all gain different things from it (Academic I1).
So it isn’t just one person’s goal, its achieving goals for all three people and then working collectively to achieve those goals, supporting each other and working along the way (Industry I4).
Reciprocity motives are evident when partners perceive that the benefits of forming an IOR far outweigh the disadvantages and costs (Oliver, 1990). In a cooperative education partnership each partner can offer the other mutual benefits through contributing their skills and resources. However, the outcomes they receive may be very different in return:
There are mutual benefits for the student and our organisation. The students get to apply what they are learning in a practical environment as well as understand the work ethic required, and we benefit from having additional resources. It's "real" learning (Industry Q22).
Legitimacy is concerned with improving an organisation’s image and reputation and can be enhanced by affiliations or relationships with well-known organisations (Babiak, 2007). Individuals also tended to have a preference for forming partnerships with organisations that have a good reputation. The following comment from an industry supervisor in a secondary school highlighted how the image of the university and the BSR degree is enhanced through having a cooperative education relationship with a school:
I want to take on co-op students for benefiting the school as well as the students and maintaining that relationship with AUT… The outcomes are to obviously have the student working within the sports department in a positive way and giving positive feedback to our students…we’ve actually got quite a few students who are going straight from here in year 13 into BSR the following year as soon as they have graduated, so I think it is a selling point from that respect [and] maintains that relationship (Industry I2).
Increasing the awareness of the organisation to potential graduates was also seen as a legitimacy motivation for smaller and less well-known companies. This was often combined with the desire of an organisation to increase its reputation by having knowledgeable staff who can bring new ideas. The motivations for this industry supervisor for taking a student were:
To help shape future outdoor recreation professionals, increase awareness of our organization, take advantage of help in the business and tap into the experience of students who are in the middle of new/modern teachings (Industry Q25).