A case study of records management practices in historic motor sport
| Pages | 314-336 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/RMJ-08-2015-0031 |
| Date | 21 November 2016 |
| Published date | 21 November 2016 |
| Author | Pauline Joseph |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Information management & governance |
A case study of records
management practices in
historic motor sport
Pauline Joseph
Department of Information Studies, Curtin University, Perth, Australia
Abstract
Purpose – This paper aims to report on empirical research that investigated the records management
practices of two motor sport community-based organisations in Australia.
Design/methodology/approach – This multi-method case study was conducted on the regulator of
motor sport, the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport Ltd (CAMS) and one afliated historic car
club, the Vintage Sports Car Club (VSCC), in Western Australia. Data were gathered using an online
audit tool and by interviewing selected stakeholders in these organisations about their organisation’s
records management practices.
Findings – The ndings conrm that these organisations experience signicant information
management challenges, including difculty in capturing, organising, managing, searching, accessing
and preserving their records and archives. Hence, highlighting their inability to manage records
advocated in the best practice Standard ISO 15489. It reveals the assumption of records management
roles by unskilled members of the group. It emphasises that community-based organisations require
assistance in managing their information management assets.
Research limitations/implications – This research focused on the historic car clubs; hence, it did
not include other Australian car clubs in motor sport. Although four historical car clubs, one in each
Australian state, were invited to participate, only the VSCC participated. This reduced the sample size
to only one CAMS-afliated historical car club in the study. Hence, further research is required to
investigate the records management practices of other CAMS afliated car clubs in all race disciplines
and to conrm whether they experienced similar information management challenges. Comments from
key informants in this project indicated that this is likely the case.
Practical implications – The research highlights risks to the motor sport community’s records and
archives. It signals that without leadership by the sport’s governing body, current records and
community archives of CAMS and its afliated car clubs are in danger of being inaccessible, hence lost.
Social implications – The research highlights the risks in preserving the continuing memory of
records and archives in leisure-based community organisations and showcases the threats in
preserving its cultural identity and history.
Originality/value – It is the rst study examining records management practices in the serious
leisure sector using the motor sport community.
Keywords Australia, Information management, Records management, Archives, ISO 15489,
Motor sport
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Not-for-prot community-based organisations, associations and clubs ll specialist
niches in providing cultural, historical, sporting, health and philanthropic support to
members of the community. They are extremely diverse: sporting clubs, churches,
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0956-5698.htm
RMJ
26,3
314
Received 28 August 2015
Revised 18 June 2016
Accepted 2 July 2016
RecordsManagement Journal
Vol.26 No. 3, 2016
pp.314-336
©Emerald Group Publishing Limited
0956-5698
DOI 10.1108/RMJ-08-2015-0031
schools, historical associations and ethnic groups all belong to this category of
organisation. Flinn (2007) denes community-based organisations as:
[…] communities that have shared or common beliefs, values, purpose and interests. They are
grouped by locality, culture, faith, and background. Their identities differ by gender,
occupation and ethnicity (p. 153).
Usually, these community-based organisations rely upon the volunteer support of its
membership, but some have paid staff as well.
The information assets of community organisations comprise records and archives
in different media, including:
[…] collections of material that encapsulate a particular community’s understanding of its
history and identity […] personal photographs, documents, ephemera and oral history,
“unofcial” records that might not normally be preserved, let alone widely available (Flinn,
2007, p. 32).
These assets include paper and electronic documents, records, physical objects,
memorabilia, photographs, oral and video recordings, web-based and social media
information, including records of short-term or temporary retention value such as
business records. The importance of these records lies in the signicant role that
community organisations play in the cultural fabric of broader society. By witnessing
and documenting the activities of these different communities, records and archives are
“the very essence of our heritage … the direct, uninterrupted and authentic voice of the
past” (Flinn, 2007, p. 152).
Despite the continuing memory value, cultural signicance and historical
importance of community archives, there is limited understanding of the records
management practices of community-based organisations in the sports leisure sector.
Yet, “sport is one of the dening cultural pastimes and interests in Australia” (Crook,
2013, p. 295). This gap in the records management literature was a motivator to explore
how records are managed in the serious leisure activity (Stebbins, 2007) of motor sport.
Background to the research
This study focuses on the motor sport community in Australia, a community that not
only has its roots in local areas but also has a strong national presence. Motor sport is
one of the most popular sports in Australia. In 2014, the Confederation of Australian
Motor Sport Ltd (CAMS), the national body and the regulator for motor sport racing in
Australia, supported 1,391 clubs and 6,247 events at amateur level (CAMS, 2014b, p. 12).
CAMS is a “not-for-prot member-based organisation focused on the development,
regulation and administration of motor sport across Australia” (CAMS, 2014).
Approximately 150,000 people participate in motor sport across Australia annually; of
these, 55,339 people compete only, 3,619 people compete and ofciate, 17,419 people
ofciate only and 76,775 are other club members (CAMS, 2014b, p. 10). Although
spectators are additional participants at these events, this study focuses on the
organisations, including competitors, volunteers, ofcials and those with a deeper
interest in and commitment to these organisations and the broader motor sport
community.
This research concentrates on historic car clubs that are afliated at the national level
to CAMS, for two reasons. First, given the complexity of the types and certications of
vehicles involved in historic racing, this group has greater requirements for archival
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Case study
of records
management
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