Cohesion is essential for team harmony and performance. It is universally sought in sport teams. The benefits have been extensively studied and are a requirement of team success. Counter to wide held belief, cohesion is not an intrinsically positive phenomenon. This thesis aimed to develop more understanding of the potential disadvantages or costs of high cohesion in sport teams to fill a significant gap in the literature. Study 1 examined the extent and nature of these costs. Athletes perceived similar costs. Fourteen categories of costs were identified with perceived pressures and communication issues demonstrated to be strongly significant. Study 2 was framed in narrative theory to explore costs experienced over the life-span career of a retired professional motor sport co-driver. The most significant costs experienced were pressure to perform and pressure to conform. The key influencing factors were a performance narrative along with what was identified as a new narrative type, the team performance narrative. Study 3 utilised the lens of narrative theory to explore when and where costs were not experienced by a current elite motorsport sport driver and his team. Buffers were indicated. Study 4 was a case study of a high performing team where across the entire season team cohesion was high but performance wasn’t reciprocated accordingly. High cohesion produced costs of conformity and normative influence, rigid demands and methods with narrow goal focus, communication issues and pressure to perform. These costs are all inter-related and interacted to have a negative impact on performance. This thesis raises awareness of the potential costs of high cohesion in sport teams and, by offering a new model – the Cohesion Costs’ Reduction Model - for identifying strategies to minimise these potential costs, aims to improve individual wellbeing in a team and improve team performance.

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Syftet med studien är att kartlägga hur klubblag med försäljning av merchandise går tillväga för att överleva på en ständigt utvecklande och konkurrerande marknad. Metoden är av kvalitativ abduktiv forskningsansats där djupintervjuer med svenska klubblag ligger till grund för empirin. Urvalet utgörs av sju respondenter som arbetar med merchandise, marknad, försäljning samt en klubbdirektör. Sammanfattningsvis anser studiens respondenter att merchandise är en viktig finansiell intäkt som används för att stärka banden till fans och sponsorer. Merchandise bidrar utifrån analysen även till att klubblagen lättare kan nå ut i samhället med sitt varumärke genom att tillämpa sportmanagement i hela organisationen. Utifrån analysen och teorierna är slutsatsen att merchandise utgör stor vikt för klubblag i arbetet kring att bibehålla en stark relation mellan evenemang, fans och sponsorer. Utifrån dessa faktorer har ytterligare faktorer identifierats för att mynna ut i en ny modell för att förstå hur svenska klubblag går tillväga för att överleva på en konkurrerande marknad. De ytterligare framtagna faktorerna är Merchandise, Klubben och Marknadsföring av klubblags varumärken, som tillsammans med evenemang, fans och sponsorer bildar “The Pentagon Modell for Sportteams”. / A qualitative abductive research approach where depth interviews with Swedish sport teams that form the basis of the empirical data. The selection consists of seven respondents who work with merchandise, marketing, sales and a club director. The purpose of the study is to identify how sport teams with the sale of merchandise proceed in order to survive in a constantly evolving and competitive market. From the basis of the analysis the respondents consider that merchandise is an important financial income but that it also is use to strengthen the ties to their fans an well as sponsors. Based on the analysis merchandise also contribute to the sport teams brand in the community by applying sport management throughout the organization. Based on the analysis and the presented theories the underlying conclusion is that merchandise is of great importance for sport teams work with maintaining a strong relationship between the events, fans and sponsors. Based on these factors, additional elements where found that resulted in a new model in order to understand how sport teams in Sweden proceed in order to survive on a competitive market. The additional factors are merchandise, the club and Marketing of the sport teams brand, along with the events, fans and sponsors form the model: "The Pentagon Model for Sport teams".