Linking board gender composition with fraud in community sport organizations: diversity is prevention

Purpose: This study examines the associations between past fraud occurrence, board gender diversity, trust, and fraud control in non-profit community sport organizations (CSOs). Methodology: Data were collected from CSOs in Germany, Australia, and North America using an online survey (n = 1,256). Fraud control and team trust (including propensity to trust, trustworthiness, cooperative behavior) among board members were measured with established scales. Their mean indexes were used as dependent variables in seemingly unrelated regression models. Findings: CSOs having experienced fraud in the past ten years are characterized by significantly lower levels of team trust overall, propensity to trust, trustworthiness, and cooperative behavior. While past fraud occurrence does not affect fraud control, board gender diversity is associated with more fraud control measures, but also lower levels of trustworthiness. Practical implications: The present findings have implications for CSO governance in terms of trust versus control and how a gender diverse board can be a source of fraud prevention. Research contribution: Linking board gender diversity theoretically and empirically with trust and fraud represents a contribution. Originality: The study is based on unique primary data on fraud in CSOs allowing to study perceptions of trust and fraud control.