Thinking about the same things differently: Examining perceptions of a non-profit community sport organisation

► Individuals reacted positively or negatively to CSOs when they maintained existing values and beliefs about what a CSO should do. ► Positive and negative reactions are more likely when individuals maintain higher levels of interest in key dimensions (sport and community) of a CSO. ► The extent that CSOs are perceived to be legitimate increased significantly as perceptions of organisational image improved. ► To improve image perceptions, CSOs need to be acutely aware of the dimensions on which legitimacy is judged.This paper explores the differing perceptions and identity responses (identification, apathy and disidentification) that potentially exist in relation to one non-profit Community Sport Organisation (CSO), and whether they explain variations in individuals’ existing values and beliefs, sport interest, community identification and views about one organisation's legitimacy. Data were collected using a quantitative online survey (n = 390), then analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) to test three hypotheses investigating whether existing values and beliefs, shared community values, local players, organisational practices and sport interest varied based on perception of organisational image and identity response. Based on the contributions of this study, non-profit CSOs should spend time developing understanding of the key dimensions that make them relevant to constituents and to decipher the values and beliefs that underpin what external audiences expect from organisations. In addition, understanding specifically what a CSO's audience expects is fundamental if the organisation is to be perceived as legitimate in relation to its purpose.