Assistant Professor, Sport Management
Dr. Erik Lachance is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sport Management at Brock University. Specifically, he is interested in non-profit sport organizations’ board decision making and performance, as well as the experiences of sport event volunteers. His research on sport governance and sport events is internationally recognized. In 2024, he was awarded the inaugural Professor Matilda Van Nierkerk Emerging Events Scholar Award. In 2025, he was named a North American Society for Sport Management Research Fellow. Dr. Lachance received the Best Paper Award from the Tourism and Sport Management Division at the 2022 Administrative Sciences Association of Canada Conference, as well as the Best Paper Award from the International Journal of Sport Management in 2024. He also provides service to the sport management academy by holding editorial board roles at Case Studies in Sport Management and Event Management, as well as serving as an ad-hoc reviewer for other journals and conferences.
Since 2022, Dr. Lachance has taught a variety of sport management courses at Brock University. Currently, he is responsible for courses related to finance, organizational behaviour, and people and culture ecosystems in sport. His teaching philosophy is founded on the approaches of constructivism and instructivism, with an emphasis on active learning and experiential learning.
Beyond research and teaching, Dr. Lachance has accumulated a wide range of practical experience, particularly in prior volunteer roles with non-profit sport organizations (e.g., Ottawa Power Wheelchair Hockey League) and at sport events (e.g., the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games). These experiences have been vital in informing his research program, with a focus on addressing timely topics in sport organizations and events.
Governance
Federated non-profit sport organizations
Volunteers
Sport events
Lachance, E. L. (2025). Nonprofit sport organization board members’ engagement in decision making. Journal of Sport Management, 39(4), 275-288. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2024-0199
Lachance, E. L., Thompson, A., Bakhsh, J. T., & Parent, M. M. (2025). Volunteer retention: Examining intentions and behaviours in the wrap-up mode of a recurring small-scale sport event. Managing Sport and Leisure, 30(1), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/23750472.2022.2147859
Lachance, E. L., Kerwin, S., & MacCharles, J. (2024). Equity, diversity, and inclusion policies in Canadian nonprofit sport organizations: A management-by-values approach. Journal of Sport Management, 1-16. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2024-0064
Lesch, L., Lachance, E. L., Kerwin, S., & Wicker, P. (2024). From gender policies and practices to organisational performance of sport governing bodies. European Sport Management Quarterly, 1-21. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2024.2404439
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2024). A hierarchical cluster analysis of board decision making in non-profit sport organizations. International Journal of Sport Management, 25(2), 1-35.
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2024). Decision making in non-profit sport organization boards: Exploring the role of internal board-level factors. International Journal of Sport Management, 25(1), 73-99.
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2024). The impact of external factors on board decision making in non-profit sport organizations. Sport, Business, and Management: An International Journal. 1-20. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1108/SBM-09-2023-0113
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2024). Vertical interlocking and decision making in national and provincial/territorial non-profit sport organization boards. Leisure/Loisir, 1-31. https://doi.org/10.1080/14927713.2024.2378801
Lachance, E. L., Thompson, A., Bakhsh, J. T., & Parent, M. M. (2024). Sport management or the management of sport? Reframing the theory debate. Sport Management Review, 27(1), 90-110. https://doi.org/10.1080/14413523.2023.2243109
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2023). Policy implementation and collaboration in a federated sport system: The case of the Official Languages Act. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 15(1), 63-79. https://doi.org/10.1080/19406940.2023.2166564
Thompson, A., Lachance, E. L., Parent, M. M., & Hoye, R. (2023). A systematic review of governance principles in sport. European Sport Management Quarterly, 23(6), 1863-1888. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2022.2077795
Lachance, E. L., Thompson, A., Bakhsh, J. T., & Parent, M. M. (2022). Understanding changes in sport event volunteers’ motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community: Evidence from a pre-post event design. Event Management, 26(8), 1727-1743. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599522X16419948694801
Lachance, E. L., Bakhsh, J. T., Thompson, A., & Parent, M. M. (2021). What predicts the sport event volunteer experience? Examining motivation, satisfaction, commitment, and sense of community. Event Management. 25(8), 721-738. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599521X16106577965107
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2021). Understanding the sport event volunteer experience in the implementation mode of the event lifecycle: An autoethnography. Event Management, 25(5), 501-519. https://doi.org/10.3727/152599520X1589467911
Lachance, E. L. (2021). COVID-19 and its impact on volunteering: Moving towards virtual volunteering. Leisure Sciences, 43(1-2), 104-110. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2020.1773990
Lachance, E. L., & Parent, M. M. (2020). The volunteer experience in a para-sport event: An autoethnography. Journal of Sport Management, 34(2), 93-102. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsm.2019-0132
North American Society for Sport Management
European Association for Sport Management
Sport Management Association of Australia and New Zealand
Financing Sport
Sport and Organizational Behaviour
People and Culture Ecosystems in Sport
Dr. Lachance is accepting graduate students to complete a thesis-based master’s on topics related to sport governance or sport events. Candidates should consult Dr. Lachance’s published research to identify a relevant topic of interest. Please contact Dr. Lachance via email to discuss potential opportunities.
Dr. Lachance is accepting a select number of undergraduate students to complete a SPMA 3P99 or SPMA 4P99 course. Students interested in conducting research (e.g., annotated bibliography, etc.) on sport governance or sport events should contact Dr. Lachance via email to discuss potential opportunities.
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