Examining institutional work that perpetuates abuse in sport organizations

In this research, the author sought to understand how organizational practices that harbor and, ultimately, perpetuate abuse become legitimized. The authors drew from the tenets of institutional work to understand how institutional structures were created and legitimized to allow abuse to perpetuate within sport organizations. In examining the sexual abuse scandals of Penn State University, Baylor University, and Michigan State University, the authors found that university administrators and stakeholders obscured reporting and investigative processes, enacted internal discipline structures that were uncompliant from formal regulations, valorized the perpetrators and university leadership, silenced victims, and engaged in collusion. The authors theorized these actions as legitimacy work designed to legitimize the universities’ management of abuse. In effect, these actions contributed to the harboring and perpetuation of abuse. The implications for the study and management of abuse in sport are discussed.     

Establishing a professional Rugby Union Football League in the USA: Managing institutional pluralism in sport entrepreneurship

Given the growth of sport leagues globally, we sought to understand how sport entrepreneurs addressed institutional plurality as they worked to establish a new professional sport league in the USA. Drawing on institutional pluralism, we critically examine two efforts to establish professional rugby union football leagues in the USA. Pluralism resulted in tensions among rugby stakeholders. While both leagues sought to reconcile tensions through institutional infrastructure work, one of the leagues garnered more stakeholder support as it was attentive to more institutional contexts. The other league’s infrastructure work was limited and resulted in the alienation of many important rugby stakeholders. Our research demonstrates the theoretical and practical importance of institutional infrastructure work within sport entrepreneurship, especially when navigating institutional pluralism.     

Addressing competing logics between the mission of a religious university and the demands of intercollegiate athletics

The purpose of this study was to examine the strategies within a faith-based university for managing competing institutional logics of its NCAA Division II affiliated athletic department. Utilizing a case study methodology, the authors collected data from athletic department members and university administrators and faculty. Within the context of this study, our data indicated that the religious academic culture of the university often conflicted with the athletic expectations of winning and marketing the university. Our findings indicated certain strategies that were effective for resolving the conflicting logics within the athletic department. Particularly, members of the athletic department drew from the strong religious culture of the university to guide their operations. The implications of this research within the field of sport management and broader organizations are discussed.     

Sports officials’ intention to continue

With governments in many western countries implementing sport policy programmes directed at increasing levels of participation, stress is being placed on the capacity of sport systems to provide sufficient numbers of appropriately accredited officials. However, with declining numbers of officials, particularly early career officials, sport organisations are also facing management problems in relation to the retention of existing officials. Using a quasi-experimental 2 × 2 field-based research design this study explored the efficacy of organisational support aimed at increasing retention of early career sports officials. The research addressed two questions: (1) Do stressors of officiating, commitment and organisational support predict the intention of early career officials to continue officiating? and (2) What is the efficacy of organisational support in increasing the intention of early career officials to continue officiating? The results support previous research that stressors and commitment explain intention to continue. Intention to continue was found to be a stable construct that was not influenced by an organisational support programme. Despite significant zero-order relationships between organisational support and intentions to continue, organisational support explained no additional or unique variance above that explained by commitment and stressors of officiating. The results provide the basis for further research as well as insights for developing organisational support and retention strategies for sports officials.     

Organisational impression congruence: A conceptual model of multi-level impression management operation in sports service organisations

The management of images projected to consumer audiences is a key task for sport service organisations; however, the number of “touch points” (interactions between employees and consumers) adds complexity to the process. In this article, the authors present a conceptual model of organisational impression congruence (OrgIC), proposing that organisations will elicit positive consumer-related outcomes if there is alignment between the desired organisational image(s), those projected by the organisation at the management/strategic level, and those projected by customer-facing employees. The conceptual model is underpinned by theories associated with impression management, reputation (as an outcome of impression management action), and cognitive dissonance theory as the basis for outcomes of in/congruence. The authors discuss possible implications and outcomes in relation to previous literature emanating from various fields (e.g., sport management, management, and marketing), and suggest directions for future research. Through the model of OrgIC, the authors contribute to theoretical development and discussion, and provide a tool that could be useful for evaluating the way that sport service organisations present themselves to consumers, and other external audiences.     

The evolving institutional work of the National Collegiate Athletic Association to maintain dominance in a fragmented field

High-profile sport governance associations tend to remain intact despite numerous issues that would predict their demise. As such, these types of associations offer valuable contexts for understanding institutional maintenance work. The authors conducted a historical case study of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the U.S. More than 7000 pages of documents spanning more than 100 years were analyzed to document how the NCAA rose to dominance in a contested field and cemented its governance as the taken-for-granted model of collegiate and amateur sport in the U.S. despite numerous issues that would predict the association’s demise. Findings suggest that the NCAA evolved its methods for controlling institutional boundaries, practices, and cognitions as means for maintaining its dominance. By expanding its boundaries, adjusting its practices, and framing member and public cognitions, the NCAA has been able to create an institution that is responsive to members and defensible against legitimate contestations.     

Political activity in escalation of commitment: Sport facility funding and government decision making in the United States

In the United States, the decision to commit extensive public resources to sport facilities is a contentious topic of debate. Elected officials often commit substantial public resources to sport facility projects amidst contrary empirical evidence and mixed residential approval. This behavior not only implicates the presence of political activity to advance a course of action, but also suggests an escalation of commitment (EoC), the subject of this study. The authors implemented a collective case study approach to examine three municipalities with long-standing histories of subsidizing professional sport facilities. Data collected from influential elected officials and public leaders (N = 13) as well as documents and records revealed (a) political action to be essential in EoC with decisions involving multiple stakeholder groups; (b) the influence and interaction of political action within each EoC determinant; (c) the substantial role of support, resources, power, and influence in efforts to increase and prevent commitment to a failing course of action; and (d) noticeable spillover effects from use of political activity in EoC.     

eSport management: Embracing eSport education and research opportunities

Consumer demand for eSport and the growth of organized video game competitions has generated considerable attention from the sport, event, and entertainment industries. eSport therefore represents a novel and popular area for sport management academics to conduct research, educate students, and service industry. However, despite growth and acceptance by consumers and practitioners, academics debate eSport’s position within the domain of sport management, their debates largely concentrated around the question of whether eSport can be classified as sport. In this article, the authors argue for the inclusion of organized eSport events and competitions within sport management vis-à-vis eSport’s meeting certain defining criteria of sport in general. eSport’s connection to traditional sport and defining characteristics are addressed to support eSport’s role as a sport entertainment product recognized by industry as representing a substantial growth opportunity for sport and related organizations. As eSport continues to evolve, practitioners face managerial challenges that are similar to those in traditional sport, particularly in areas of governance and diversity. Sport management academics should embrace the potential of eSport in order to examine this evolution and provide guidance to industry through education and research.     

The sport cluster concept as middle-range theory for the sport value framework

The Sport Value Framework provides a new logic for value creation in sport based on the Service-dominant logic. The Sport Value Framework is a general theory with high level of abstraction, and there is no middle-range theory yet to link it to empirical data. The purpose of this research is to provide one middle-range theory connecting empirical findings to the Sport Value Framework. The authors used a case study approach of a geographical localised sport industry. Primary data collection in the Auckland sailing industry included 27 interviews and observations at events. Secondary data include 13 documents of organisational information and archival data. Data were analysed with NVivo. The results suggest that the Sport Value Framework explains value creation within a localised sport industry. The middle-range theory between the authors’ data and the Sport Value Framework is the Sport Cluster Concept. Eight of the ten foundational premises of the Sport Value Framework are relevant to the case. The results confirm the Sport Cluster Concept as a middle-range theory to explain value creation in localised sport industries through the lenses of the Service-dominant logic. This research helps sport management practitioners to better understand value creation in localised sport industries. It suggests that sport management and marketing scholars should focus more on networks of actors and related inclusive empirical research designs rather than focusing on isolated elements and single actors of sport industries.     

Doping in sport: Whose problem is it?

In the last few years there has been a significant increase in the number and scope of social science research into doping in sport. However, despite this apparent progress, the field remains a disparate body of work and lacks both direction and leadership. Whilst sport management is a discipline that is well suited to provide such leadership, scholarly research into this controversial topic has not been published widely in sport management journals. This special issue redresses this gap by bringing together a range of scholarly articles that represent a variety of perspectives by authors from North America, Europe and Australia. The issues and challenges covered are varied, but each paper brings a common theme: the implications for the management of doping in sport. The six papers in this Special Issue of Sport Management Review are a significant addition to the slowly growing body of sport management scholarly work on doping in sport. It is hoped that future research will be prompted with this Special Issue and the discipline of sport management will recognize and respond to the challenges presented by doping.     

Is “school sport” associated with school belongingness? Testing the influence of school sport policy

One of the primary justifications for middle school sport is the presumed association between sport participation and school belongingness. However, concerns regarding school sport values have called this association into question. Previous researchers have focused primarily on school sport as a single entity, with far less consideration for the different policies available to guide sport management and delivery in the school context. The authors examine the association between sport participation and school belongingness under two sport policies (i.e., interscholastic and intramural). Moderated mediation analysis is used to examine the relationships underpinning this connection in both policy contexts. Results indicate differences across policy contexts related to the salience of perceived sport and academic competence. The discussion highlights intriguing implications for sport administrators regarding school sport policy, particularly as it pertains to promoting school belongingness.     

Interorganisational conflict between national and provincial sport organisations within China’s elite sport system: Perspectives from national organisations

In this article, the authors examine interorganisational conflict between provincial and national sport organisations in China. The authors theoretically ground the research in work related to interorganisational relationships and interorganisational conflict. The three case studies are artistic gymnastics, swimming, and cycling, and the authors conducted interviews with 11 staff from the relevant national-level sport organisations. Secondary data was sourced from official publications, websites, and influential domestic media. The key finding is that, whilst famed for its top-down bureaucratic system, there is considerable interorganisational conflict within the Chinese sport system. The extent and characteristics of the national-provincial conflict vary between sports. But there is also some consistency regarding the causes of the conflict and the measures adopted to mitigate the tension. Interorganisational conflict provides a useful heuristic for articulating and understanding the interorganisational relationships within the Chinese elite sport system and hence advances elite sport management research.     

Leadership in governance: Exploring collective board leadership in sport governance systems

The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore a working conceptualisation of collective board leadership in a federal sport network. In this paper, the authors examine the relationship between collective leadership and governance systems specifically within the non-profit sport organisation context, bringing together notions of collective board leadership and collaborative governance. Neither concept has yet been presented in tandem for the benefit of developing sport governance knowledge and practice. As an outcome of the conceptualising, the authors make explicit the multiple levels of the sport governance system and pose two broad research directions that will help advance theory and drive a better understanding of collective board leadership within these types of governance systems. A central premise of this paper is that the sport management field is lacking literature that brings together leadership and governance, and that collective leadership is a topic where the intersection of leadership and governance renders advancement for both bodies of work. The authors offer implications for future work in collective leadership for sport governance.     

eSport: Construct specifications and implications for sport management

The purpose of this article is to add to the conceptual discussion on eSport, analyze the role of eSport within sport management, and suggest avenues for future eSport research. The authors suggest that debates surround the degree to which eSport represents formal sport, and disagreements likely stem from conceptualizations of sport and context. Irrespective of one’s notion of eSport as formal sport, the authors suggest the topic has a place in sport management scholarship and discourse. Such a position is consistent with the broad view of sport adopted by Sport Management Review, the perspective that eSport represents a form of sportification, and the association among eSport and various outcomes, including physical and psychological health, social well-being, sport consumption outcomes, and diversity and inclusion. Finally, the authors conclude that eSport scholarship can advance through the study of its governance, marketing, and management as well as by theorizing about eSport.     

The conceptualization of racial tasking: Uncovering the (un)intended consequences

Racial tasking focuses on prejudicial attitudes toward racial minorities’ athletic and cognitive abilities, and the subsequent impact on coaching decisions. Lacking, however, is a definitive conceptualization of racial tasking and its theoretical tenets. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to advance the concept by clearly outlining the four essential tenets of racial tasking: (a) positional similarity, (b) racial dissimilarity, (c) interest convergence/task divergence, and (d) capital (dis)accumulation. To this end, the authors introduce and review influential theories and ideologies, with particular application to the sport industry. In doing so, the authors detail the primary tenets of racial tasking, provide examples, and discuss implications to further situate this phenomenon and framework within the sport industry and sport management research.     

Managing abuse in sport: An introduction to the special issue

This special issue was designed to advance a research agenda focussed on the management of abuse in sport. Despite progress in the field, greater attention to the structures, policies, processes, practices, and sites in which abuse occurs is required. As such, there is a need for evidence-based solutions to improve the management of abuse and integrity in sport. The authors identified five overarching themes across the 12 papers included within the special issue: the harms and legacies of abuse; abuse in mediated environments; abuse of referees; frameworks that sustain abuse; and safeguarding. The articles included in this issue highlight the complexity of abuse in sporting spaces, the impact it can have on victims and the challenges faced in appropriately managing sporting spaces toward the reduction of harm. This special issue is driven by the authors’ desire to promote integrity and enrich the sporting experience for all, with the hope of driving further research into the management of abuse and integrity in sport.     

Collaborative self-study: Lessons from a study of wearable fitness technology and physical activity

While researchers in related disciplines have embraced and benefited from use of unconventional contemporary qualitative research methods extending beyond interviews and case studies, sport management researchers largely have not thus far. The purpose of this article is to encourage greater use of collaborative self-study (autoethnography and self-ethnography) within sport management research. Based on our experience with a collaborative self-study research project examining the influence of wearable fitness technology on physical activity, we explore key methodological considerations focusing on the ethics of self-study, and the benefits, challenges, and opportunities associated with employing this underutilized qualitative method in sport management research. Collaborative self-study offers the opportunity to address questions and examine sport phenomena from perspectives rarely addressed by traditional approaches. Through reviewing collaborative self-study, we provide guidance for sport management researchers and encourage researchers to consider this method in their future projects.     

Conflict among athletes and their coaches: what is the theory and research so far?

Although social and personal relationships are vital for productivity, health and wellbeing, conflict is inevitable and is likely to cause upset and hurt feelings as well as anxiety and distrust. Despite the potentially central role of interpersonal conflict in sport, researchers have yet to pay concerted attention to exploring the nature of conflict, its antecedents and consequences. Following a thorough literature search 80 research papers were identified, of which only a small number (6) studied interpersonal conflict directly, most captured dysfunctional interpersonal processes such as breakdown of communication. The current review aims to provide a critical summary of the existing literature around the psychological construct of interpersonal conflict, including its antecedents, management strategies and outcomes within the context of coach–athlete relationships as well as other relational contexts in sport. Based on the relevant literature, a framework of interpersonal conflict is proposed, which includes a specific focus on a key dyad within sport coaching – namely the coach–athlete dyad. Future research directions and potential practical implications for sport psychology consultants, coach educators, coaches and athletes as well as other stakeholders are discussed.     

Understanding the concept of professionalisation in sport management research

It has been 80 years since the concept of professionalisation began to take root within the sociology and management disciplines. Similarly, the study of the professionalisation of sport has a relatively prominent and longstanding history within the discipline of sport management. Notwithstanding its continued usage and importance, there has been little systematic attempt to examine how the concept has been operationalised within sport management. In light of this recognition, this review piece draws upon extant sport management, sociological and managerial literature to (i) explore the various ways in which the concept of professionalisation has been employed within sport management, and in doing so, (ii) identifies potential research gaps and future avenues of inquiry within the sport management discipline. The review identifies three broad classifications of professionalisation (organisational, systemic, occupational) and calls for more research surrounding broader conceptualisations of professionalisation that remain relatively unexplored by sport management scholars.